



mrniiirriiiiiiiiiiniiiBMMtiMi 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

o:%\'^ — 

Chap._P_.. Copyright No. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



A. 




THE 

FORCING-BOOK 



A MANUAL 

OF THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES 

IN GLASS HOUSES 



BY 

L. H. BAILEY 

FtL- 5 1807 I ^.^/) - 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 

1896 

All rights reserved 



Copyright 1896 
By L. H. bailey 



flDt. pleasant iprinter^ 

I. Horace McFarland Company 
Harrisburg, Pa. 



THE FORCING -BOOK 



The Horticulturist's Rule-Book 
Plant-Breeding 
The Nursery- Book 
The Forcing-Book 

Others in preparation 



PREFACE. 

One of the most interesting and significant evidences 
of the abiding expansion of horticultural business is the 
evolution of the glass house within the present century. 
It is only within the last one or two generations that 
the growing of plants in glass houses for the purpose 
of selling the product of bloom or of fruit has come 
to be important and widespread. The most recent part 
of the expansion, at least in this country, is the com- 
mercial growing of winter vegetables. It speaks well 
for the prosperity and refinement of our people when 
they are willing and able to purchase freely of the 
delicacies of the winter garden. This is one of those 
branches of agriculture which demands the nicest skill 
and the closest fellowship with plants. It is, therefore, 
one in which comparatively few people are fitted to 
engage, but it must, from the very force of civilization, 
be one of those occupations which shall gain impetus 
with time. If it is a business which demands much 
care and pains, then its promoters must be students. 
They will need helps. It is this thought which has 
produced this book. 

The writer must hasten to say — what the attentive 
reader will soon discover — that he cannot consider 
himself to be an authority upon the subject. It has 
happened that he has been associated with considerable 

(V) 



PREFACE. 

experimental work in the forcing of vegetables during 
the past few years, and he has endeavored to see 
much of the forcing industry of the country. In this 
time there has been a great accumulation of informa- 
tion and of notes which, since there is no adequate 
literature upon the subject, he has now set down in 
these pages. The book has been written for the com- 
mercial grower of winter vegetables, but the writer will 
be glad if it shall lead anyone to make the effort to 
grow the vegetables for his own table. The very ob- 
stacles which one must overcome make the effort all 
the more worth the while ; and the satisfaction of 
growing a garden when the snow lies deep against the 
house is of the keenest and most unselfish kind. 

The American writing upon vegetable-forcing is very 
recent. I have referred to most of it at various places 
in the text. It only remains to say that the basis of 
much of this book is the series of publications from 
the Cornell Experiment Station ; and it is justice that 
I add a list of these papers. This list will also aid 
the student in tracing the bibliography of the literature 
of the forcing of plants. The Cornell bulletins upon 
the forcing of vegetables in glass houses (some of 
which are permanently out of print) are these : No. 28, 
Experiments in the Forcing of Tomatoes, June, 1891 ; 
No. 30, Some Preliminary Studies of the Influence of 
the Electric Arc Light upon Greenhouse Plants, August, 
1891 ; No. 31, Forcing of English Cucumbers, Septem- 
ber, 1891 ; No. 41, On the Comparative Merits of Steam 
and Hot Water for Greenhouse Heating, August, 1892 ; 
No. 42, Second Report upon Electro-Horticulture, Sep- 

(vi) 



PREFACE. 

tember, 1892 ; No. 43, Some Troubles of Winter To- 
matoes, September, 1892 ; No. 53, CEdema of the To- 
mato, May, 1893 ; No. 55, Greenhouse Notes (Third 
Report upon Electro-Horticulture, Winter Cauliflowers, 
Second Report upon Steam and Hot Water Heating), 
July, 1893 ; No. 94, Damping-Off, May, 1895 ; No. 95, 
Winter Muskmelons, June, 1895 ; No. 96, Forcing-House 
Miscellanies (Remarks upon the Heating of Forcing- 
Houses, Lettuce, Celery Under Glass, Cress in Winter, 
Forcing Eggplants, Winter Peas, Bees in Greenhouses, 
Methods of Controlling Greenhouse Pests by Fumiga- 
tion, Treatment of Carnation Rust), June, 1895. 

Whilst this manual discusses only the forcing of 
kitchen-garden vegetables, the essential principles which 
are set forth apply with almost equal directness to the 
forcing of plants for their bloom. It should be added, 
also, that it is the purpose of the book to treat only 
those crops which are raised to maturity in glass houses, 
so that the starting of plants for setting in the open, 
and all questions of hotbeds and coldframes, are 
omitted. 

I.. H. BAILEY. 

Ithaca, N. Y., January i, 1897^ 



(vii) 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Introductory Suggestions i to 15 

General Remarks i 

Specific Remarks 4 

The Category of Forcing Crops 4 

Locations for Vegetable Forcing 8 

Cost of Heat and Labor 9 

CHAPTER II. 

Construction of the Forcing-House .... 16 to 48 

Types and Forms of Houses 16 

Some of the Structural Details 24 

The Frame 24 

The Sash-bar 29 

The Plate 30 

The Gutter 33 

Walls 33 

Ventilators 35 

The Glass and Glazing 36 

Beds and Benches 40 

Heating 40 

Steam and Hot Water 40 

Piping 43 

Flues and Stoves 46 

Cost of Forcing-houses 46 

(ix) 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 

PAGE 

Management of the Forcing-House . . . 49 to 92 

Temperatures for the Various Crops 49 

Soils for Forced Vegetables 50 

The Question of Fertilizers 52 

The Connecticut Experiments with Tomatoes . 53 

The Connecticut Experiments with Lettuce . . 61 

On the Use of Fresh Stable Manure 62 

Watering 65 

Watering by Sub-irrigation 68 

Construction of Beds and Benches for Sub- 
irrigation 69 

Experiments with Lettuce and Other Plants . 72 
Conclusions 77 

Ventilating and Shading 78 

The Electric Light for Forcing-houses . . . . 80 

Pollination , 81 

Insects and Diseases 83 

Methods of Controlling Greenhouse Pests by 
Fumigation 86 to 92 

CHAPTER IV. 

Lettuce 93 to 107 

Temperature 04 

I-ight 94 

Beds and Benches 94 

Soils 96 

Growing in Pots gg 

Sowing and Transplanting loi 

A Grower's Remarks 102 

Varieties 104 

Enemies and Diseases 104 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER V. 

PAGE 

Cauliflower io8to 114 

Unsuccessful Experiments 108 

The Successful Crops 109 

Subsequent Experience 114 

CHAPTER VI. 

Radish 115 to 126 

Cornell Experience 115 

Sowing 115 

Soil 116 

General Management 117 

Varieties 120 

Washington Experience 121 

Houses Adapted to Growing Radishes . . . .121 

The Soil 122 

Planting the Seed 122 

Varieties to Plant 124 

Preparing the Crop for Market 124 

Approximate Yields per Square Foot . . . .125 
Temperature, Moisture, Insects and Diseases . 125 
Summary 126 

CHAPTER VII. 

Asparagus and Rhubarb 127 to 134 

Asparagus 130 

John Gardner's Method 132 

Forcing in Hotbeds 132 

Rhubarb 134 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Miscellaneous Cool Plants 135 to 152 

Pea 135 

Experiments at Cornell 135 



Xn CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Celery 139 

Salads, Pot-herbs, and Mints 141 

Water-cress 141 

Garden Cress . 142 

Parsley 142 

Spinach 142 

Dandelion 143 

Mustard 143 

Mints 143 

Onion 144 

Beets, Carrots and Turnips 145 

Potato 145 

Pepino 146 

History and Description of the Pepino . . . 147 

CHAPTER IX. 

Tomato 153 to 183 

The House 153 

Soil and Fertilizers 154 

Raising the Plants, and Bearing Age 155 

Beds, Benches and Boxes 157 

Training 160 

Watering 161 

Pollination 162 

Second Crop 166 

Yields and Prices 169 

Varieties 172 

Marketing 174 

Animal Parasites 175 

Diseases 177 

CHAPTER X. 

ClClMBER 184 to 203 

The English Forcing Type of Cucumber 184 

General Requirements 186 



CONTENTS. Xlll 

Cucumber — page 

Training i88 

Bearing Age 189 

Varieties 190 

Origin of this Type of Cucumber 192 

Pollination — Ill-shaped Fruits 195 

Crosses 199 

Enemies 200 

The White Spine Type of Cucumber 201 

CHAPTER XL 

MUSKMELON 204 to 224 

The House 205 

The Soil 207 

Sowing and Transplanting ... 210 

Training 211 

Pollinating 214 

Varieties 215 

Yields and Markets 220 

Insects and Diseases 221 

CHAPTER XII. 

Miscellaneous Warm Plants 225 to 244 

Bean 225 

Eggplant 228 

Pepper, or Capsicum 238 

Cyphomandra 241 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Summaries of the Management of the Various 
Crops 245 to 259 

Index 260 



THE FORCING-BOOK. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTORY SUGGESTIONS. 

GENERAL REMARKS. 

The growing of vegetables under glass for the winter 
market is one of the most special and difficult of all horti- 
cultural operations. It is a more uncertain and perplexing 
business than the growing of cut-flowers, because it is newer, 
less understood, there are comparatively few varieties of 
vegetables particularly adapted to winter forcing, and the 
markets are less extensive and more unstable. To succeed 
with forced vegetables requires great skill in the manage- 
ment of glass houses, close attention to every detail, and 
the complete control of all the conditions of plant growth. 
To these requirements must be added a thorough knowl- 
edge of the markets, and the ability to have the crop 
ready at any given time. 

No amount of reading or study can make one a success- 
ful grower of plants under glass. He must first of all pos- 
sess a love for the business, a determination to surmount 
all difficulties, and especially the ability and desire to give 
personal attention to all the details day by day. Having 
these requisites, reading and study will aftord him most 
efficient aid by way of direction and suggestion. One who 
reads horticultural literature should bear in mind the fact 
that its value depends very much upon the reader. Instruc- 



2 INTRODUCTORY SUGGESTIONS. 

tions should suggest lines of work, and should explain and 
enforce the fundamental reasons for the various operations ; 
but the directions are not to be rigidly and perfunctorily 
applied to the particular work in hand. The reader must 
check up the printed instructions with his own experiences. 

Persons who succeed in the growing of fruits and vege- 
tables in the field do not necessarily succeed with crops 
under glass. Success out of doors is often the result of 
favorable conditions of soil and weather ; but under glass 
the grower must not only know the conditions which the 
plants require, but he must actually create those conditions. 
The skill of the horticulturist lies in his ability to override 
difficulties. Leonard Coates, a well-known horticulturist 
of California, has recently put this truth into an aphorism : 
"Let the conditions be adverse, and his measure of suc- 
cess will prove the man." 

The person who desires to grow vegetables under glass 
for market must, first of all, count up the costs and the risks. 
Glass houses are expensive, and they demand constant 
attention to repairs. They are short-lived. The humid at- 
mosphere and the high temperature engender decay. The 
heating is the largest single item of outlay in maintaining 
the establishment. Moreover, it is an item upon which it is 
impossible to economize by means of reducing the tem- 
perature, for a reduction of temperature means delayed 
maturity of the crop and, in the case of warmth-loving 
plants — like cucumbers, melons and tomatoes — it invites 
debility and disease. Labor is the second great item of 
expense in maintaining a forcing establishment. This, 
however, may be economized if the proprietor is willing 
to lengthen his own hours ; but economy which proceeds 
so far that each one of the plants does not receive the 
very best of care, is ruinous in the end. 

The risks in the forcing of vegetables are great. In the 
first place, there are risks of accidents, as fire, frosts and 
hail. There are risks of serious insect and fungous inva- 
sions. But, above all, there are risks arising from lack of 



PACKING AND MARKETING. 3 

experience and knowledge. One must discover the knack 
of ventilating, watering, heating and training adapted to 
every crop, and this can be learned only by patient work 
and study. Every failure should stimulate inquiry, and the 
operator should not rest until he has ascertained its cause. 

It is imperative that the person who desires to grow 
vegetables under glass should begin in a small way. Let 
him begin with a small house — say 20 by 60 feet — and 
gradually feel his way, both in the growing of the plants 
and in the marketing of the product. If he is successful in 
a small house, he need have no hesitation in extending his 
area, for it is easier to control the conditions of temper- 
ature and moisture in a large establishment than in a 
small one. 

As a rule, in all those industries in which a very supe- 
rior product is to be obtained, and in which the risks are 
great, the rewards are good to those who succeed. Good 
winter vegetables, placed attractively upon the market at 
timely occasions, are sure of ready sales. Quite as many 
persons fail to market their products successfully as to 
grow them well. A forced vegetable is a luxury. It is a 
special product. Its sale depends, therefore, very much 
upon its beauty and attractiveness. Every tomato and 
melon should be neatly wrapped in clean, thin paper, and 
if each wrapper bear the name and address of the grower, 
so much the better. Great care must be taken to pack the 
product so that it shall not wilt, nor be touched by frost, 
nor bruised or soiled in transit. In short, the product must 
be dainty. 

In general, it may be said that the common open market 
is rarely profitable for winter-forced vegetables, unless they 
are grown upon such a large scale that the grower controls 
the market, rather than the market the grower. The person 
who desires to make money from these crops should secure 
special markets for them, either by placing them directly in 
the families of the consumers, or consigning them to dealers 
who have a particular or fancy trade in such products. The 

2 FORC. 



4 INTRODUCTORY SUGGESTIONS. 

choicer and rarer the product, the greater should be the 
care in finding a market for it. Common things are not 
worth great effort in the marketing, but uncommon things 
are worth nothing less than such effort. 

A dealer in hothouse vegetables in New York writes that 
"most all forced vegetables bring good prices in winter, 
but they must be packed and shipped in first-class order. 
A good many people raise fine vegetables in winter, but 
they do not understand the packing, and the products are 
spoiled in shipping." The average prices of forced vege- 
tables in the New York market for the winter of 1895-6 
are given me by this dealer, as follows : 

Dec. Jan. Feb. 

Lettuce per doz. . $0 63 $0 50 $0 50 

Cucumbers (forcing 

type) per doz. . i 50 2 00 2 50 

Peppers . . . per crate (i bus.) . $2 00 to 3 00 3 50 2 50 

Beans .... per crate (i bus.) . . 2 00 $3 00 to 5 00 4 50 

Tomatoes per lb. . 15 to 20 25 20 to 30 

Beans, in bundles of 40 10 to 20 through the winter. 

"Chicory, escarole and romain salads generally bring 
good prices in winter."* 

SPECIFIC REMARKS. 

The category of forcing crops. — The vegetables which 
are forced to edible maturity under glass are conveniently 
distributed into two groups, — the "cool" plants, and the 
"warm" plants. 

The cool plants are such as thrive best in a night tem- 



* These three plants are not properly forced vegetables in the sense of 
being grown in glasshouses, and are, therefore, not included in this book. 
They are grown in late fall, and are bleached in cellars or in frames ; or, 
in the case of chicory, the roots (raised from spring-sown seeds) are dug 
in the fall and stored in a dark cellar, where the leaves soon start. The 
chicory may also be grown under benches much like asparagus, if it is kept 
dark in order to bleach it. Escarole is bleached endive. Romain salad is 
winter Cos lettuce. Sea-kale is often forced in frames after the manner of 
asparagus, and it might be managed in the forcing-house if necessary. 



LIST OF FORCING CROPS. 5 

perature of 55° or below, and a day temperature of 65° to 
70°. The plants of this category are : 

Lettuce, 

Asparagus, 

Rhubarb, 

Cauliflower, 

Pea, 

Carrot, 

Beet, 

Radish, 

Cress, mustard, mints, parsley, 

Onion, 

Spinach, 

Celery, 

Pepino. 

The warm plants demand a night temperature above 55°, 
and the day temperature may run above 75° when the 
weather is clear and bright. They are : 

Tomato, 

Eggplant, 

Pepper, 

Cucumber, 

Muskmelon, 

Bean, 

Cyphomandra, 

The above categories comprise about all the species of 
vegetables which are actually forced for market in this 
country, and even of this short list there are a number for 
which the market is so limited, or the methods of grow- 
ing them so little understood, that they really have no 
place in the staple demands of the market. Vegetables of 
very minor importance as a forced crop are peas, carrots, 
beets, cress, celery, eggplant, and pepper. In fact, there 
are only three staple commercial forced vegetables, and 
tiiese, in the order of their commercial importance, are 
lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. 



6 INTRODUCTORY SUGGESTIONS. 

It is possible to grow any vegetable under glass, but it 
is only those products of a perishable nature which can be 
expected to yield any degree of profit. Those, also, which 
require a very long season in which to mature, and which 
yield a small amount of product — such as beets, car- 
rots, spinach, peas— are of little importance for forcing. 
The Lima beans require a too long season, and they 
are chiefly consumed in the dry state ; but the com- 
mon "string" beans are a good forcing crop. There 
are special reasons why some other vegetables are not 
forced with profit. Cauliflower, for example, is a most 
satisfactory crop to grow under glass, but the best heads 
of the late fall crop are so easily kept through the winter in 
cold storage as to almost despoil the market for the forced 
product. Spinach was once forced in cheap houses and in 
hotbeds and coldframes, but the southern-grown spinach 
now reaches the market in perfect condition from the holi- 
days until spring. Radishes are more popular in spring 
than in midwinter but the demand for them in early 
spring is met more by hotbed-grown roots than by a house- 
grown product. The forcing of celery is practically un- 
known, having been made a success, apparently, only in 
an experimental way. Eggplants require a long season 
and much heat and care, and the demand for them is slight 
in winter. The regular season of the vegetable is long, 
beginning with those from the Gulf states and ending with 
the October and even November fruits of the north. The 
pepino is little known, either to growers or to the market. 
Winter peppers ■ — used for the making of "stuffed pep- 
pers" — are in limited demand, and they are readily shipped 
in from the south. Winter muskmelons are an exceed- 
ingly fancy product, and very difficult to grow with good 
flavor, so the price must be very high to enable them to 
yield a profit. Squashes and marrows can be grown in 
glass houses, but the plants require much room, and the 
product has small commercial value. 

The near future will no doubt see many new departures 



DEMAND FOR FORCED VEGETABLES. 7 

in the forcing of vegetables. The demand for forced beans 
is already fairly good, and is undoubtedly destined to in- 
crease. The other minor forcing crops which are probably 
destined to receive greater attention are celery, asparagus, 
rhubarb, muskmelon ; and there may be others which we do 
not now conceive of as forcing crops. With the increase 
of population and the augmentation of the appetite for 
luxuries in the dietary, the forcing of vegetables is bound 
to become an industry of great importance. It is yet in its 
merest infancy. It has practically all arisen, in this country, 
in twenty years, yet the demand for information respecting 
it, in the Eastern states, is even now very earnest and wide- 
spread. There is a constant tendency for consumers to 
prefer a forced home-grown product to a transported and 
exotic one. The forced tomatoes generally sell well in 
the very presence of the cheaper product shipped in from 
Florida. The best consumers desire the product at first 
hand from the plant, and they enjoy the sentiment which 
is attached to the forcing of a plant into the pink of perfec- 
tion in the very teeth of blizzards. Whilst the author does 
not desire to urge anyone into the forcing of vegetables, 
he is nevertheless convinced that the business is bound to 
open up great possibilities in the future. 

It is generally best to devote an entire house to one kind 
of crop, for every crop demands a particular treatment to 
insure the most profitable results. Yet it is often advisable 
to grow an alternation or rotation of crops, in order to 
employ the house to best advantage, and to meet the re- 
quirements of the markets. Houses which are too cold for 
winter crops of tomatoes or cucumbers may be devoted to 
lettuce or other cool crops during the cold months, and to 
the warm crops in early spring and summer. Two crops of 
lettuce during the winter may be followed by the White 
Spine type of cucumber for spring and early summer. 
Winter tomatoes may often be followed advantageously by 
cucumbers or preceded by late fall melons. Vegetables are 
often alternated with flowers or with plant stock. In the 



8 INTRODUCTORY SUGGESTIONS. 

famous "carnation belt" of Chester county, Pennsylvania, 
tomatoes are largely grown as an early spring crop, fol- 
lowing the crops of carnation cuttings. 

Locations for vegetable forcing. — The items which 
chiefly enter into the choice of an ideal location for the 
forcing of vegetables are the transportation facilities and 
the price of fuel. The operator makes his climate, and 
mixes his soils to order. Yet a sunny climate is always to 
be preferred, for it is essential to quick and sure results in 
midwinter that there be an abundance of direct sunlight. 
The severity of the climate as respects cold is a very minor 
factor, for the operator is able, in the construction and pro- 
tection of his house, to make himself very largely indepen- 
dent of the outside temperature without great additional 
consumption of fuel. Whilst the gardener manufactures 
his soil, so to speak, yet in certain crops (as in heading 
lettuce) it is very important that the soil of the neighbor- 
hood should be free of hard clay. 

The transportation facilities are all-important. The pro- 
duct must reach the market expeditiously, and there should 
be direct access to several good markets. The product 
is not bulky, and the expense of shipping it is not heavy. 
Distance from market, therefore, is a less important factor 
than frequent and expeditious means of shipping. If one 
has a large product to ship, the actual distance from market 
is of still less moment, for the gardener can secure con- 
cessions on transportation rates ; but it is nevertheless 
important that the market be directly accessible. Many 
of the large vegetable forcers ship their products two and 
three hundred miles. All winter products are shipped 
by express. 

The vegetable forcing establishments are widely scat- 
tered. The larger part of them are in the environs of the 
large cities of the east, but many of them are in small cities 
or villages several hours removed from the markets. They 
can often be established with profit upon farms which are 
near one or more good railway stations, and when the 



Expense of heating and labor. g 

farmer desires employment for the winter months. Many 
of the smaller cities — even of twenty thousand and less — 
afford a ready market for a considerable quantity of lettuce, 
tomatoes and cucumbers, making it necessary to ship only 
a comparatively small surplus to distant markets. A 
home and personal market is always to be preferred to a 
distant or metropolitan one. 

Cost of heat and labor. — The two important items of 
expense in the management of a forcing structure, as al- 
ready said, are the heating and the labor. It is impossible 
to give any exact estimates of the necessary outlay for 
these items, because these expenses are most intimately 
associated with the exposure, tightness, efficiency of the 
heating apparatus, and handiness of each particular house. 
A single glass house, standing alone, is more expensive to 
heat than the same house in a range or nest of houses. 
In central New York, where the winters are long and 
severe, a detached house, 20 x 100 ft. in ground area, 
will generally require, for a tomato-forcing temperature, 
from 15 to 20 tons of coal for the year, whether heated by 
steam or hot water. For a lettuce-forcing temperature, 
one-third less coal is usually sufficient. 

A good workman, who is accjuainted with the business, 
should be able to do all the work of growing tomatoes, 
except the firing, in two houses 20 x100 ft. of ground sur- 
face. In lettuce-forcing, one man will handle four times as 
great an area after the plants are transplanted. These 
estimates assume that the houses are convenient, with 
facilities for watering with a hose. The larger the estab- 
lishment, the less proportionate help does it require, if the 
houses are so arranged that the workmen are not required 
to walk more than 50 or 60 feet from any given point to 
reach an opening into another house, and if they are not 
obliged to pass back and forth out of doors while at their 
v\'ork. It is, therefore, evident that for economy in both 
heating and labor, a range of two or more parallel houses 
is more satisfactory than a single house or than several 



lO INTRODUCTORY SUGGESTIONS, 

detached houses. When, however, each house is large 
enough to completely employ the labor of one or two men, 
the advantages of the nesting of the houses is not so great ; 
and it may even be better, in such cases, to have the houses 
entirely separate, in order to facilitate the hauling of earth 
and other supplies into them. 

Aside from the labor required to grow the plants, the 
operator must figure on the cost of the heating. It is imper- 
ative that the temperatures be kept fairly uniform during the 
night. In flict, variations of temperature are usually more 
hurtful at night than at day. For the best results, every 
forcing establishment should have a night man ; but such a 
man can not be afforded for a small house. In this case, 
the gardener must place his dependence upon the self-regu- 
lating devices of the modern heaters ; but even then he will 
need to give some attention to his house on very severe 
nights. Very much depends upon the faithfulness and 
efficiency of the night man. Very often the owner will find 
the temperature of the houses to be ideal at bed-time and 
at 6 in the morning, while, if he had been astir at 4 o'clock, 
he would have found it ten degrees too low. He would, if 
he knew the circumstances, cease to wonder why his crops 
were slow in growth and always attacked by mildew. 

In order to arrive at actual expenditures for heat and 
labor, I have asked a few of my friends and correspon- 
dents — all wide-awake commercial growers — to give me 
their judgment upon the quantity of coal required to heat 
for one year a rose house of modern construction, 20 x 100 
feet ground surface, even span, 10 ft. high at the ridge. I 
also asked, "About how large an establishment does it 
require, in roses or winter tomatoes, to keep one good 
workman busy during the forcing season, in watering, ven- 
tilating, training, picking the product, etc. (not attending 
to the firing)?" The answers to these questions are 
given below. Where the size of the house is not speci- 
fied, it is understood to be 20 x 100 ft., as stated in the 
problem. 



expenses for heat and labor. ii 

Ontario — 

1. I have two tomato houses, each 20x200 ft., 13 ft. 
high at the ridge, heated with steam. I used last year no 
tons of anthracite coal. 

One good man will attend to one house 20 x200 ft., in 
the spring. In the winter, the man and a boy can thor- 
oughly care for two such houses. 

Massachusetts — 

2. For roses, using hot water, it takes about 18 tons of 
coal for the year. 

One man will care for two to three houses, if he is 
active and thorough, and keeps them clean and in first- 
class order. 

New York — 

3. I am heating 500 lineal feet of rose house, 20 ft. wide 
and II ft. high, at a cost (last year) of I333. This is about 
65 cents per lineal foot. The system is hot water in small 
pipes. 

For roses, a good man should manage 400 lineal feet 
of a house 20 ft. wide. 

4. I should estimate 12 tons of coal. This is about my 
actual outlay in the winter of 1895-6. 

A man should handle 8,000 or 10,000 sq. ft. of glass, 
in roses. 

5. I have about 15,000 square feet of glass, in ten 
houses. I grow roses, carnations, violets, plants, etc. 
Four of my own family, including myself, work in the 
houses, and I usually keep one man besides. Outside of 
my own family, it costs me about |2,ooo a year to run 
my place, — for coal, help, repairs, water rent, taxes, bulbs, 
insurance, lumber for boxes, and all other incidentals. 
My houses are in good condition, and I keep the place in 
first-class order. 

6. I judge that a single rose house 20x100 ft., in this 
climate (Mohawk Valley), kept at rose-forcing tempera- 
ture, would take about 25 tons of anthracite coal a year. 



12 INTRODUCTORV SUGGESTiONS . 

In a nest or block of several houses, the heatmg could 
probably be done with 20 tons. 

In rose-forcing, a careful and industrious man can take 
care of about 10,000 sq. ft. of glass. With a smart boy 
for weeding and cleaning up, he could handle 5,000 ft. 
more. 

7. To keep an average temperature of 60°, for roses, by 
steam, would require about 18 tons of hard coal. Much 
will depend upon the boiler, the placing of the radiating 
surface, and the carefulness of the fireman. 

With things conveniently arranged, one smart man 
could care for a rose house 20 ft. wide and 250 to 300 ft. 
long. 

8. I grow violets, and heat with water. I use 60 to 70 
tons of hard coal for 15,000 sq. ft. of glass. 

Michigan — 

9. With coal at $2.75 per ton, and including fireman's 
wages, it will cost anywhere from I75 to $125 per year, 
depending upon the efficiency of the boiler and the sever- 
ity of the season. 

Much depends upon the handiness of the place, and how 
neat the proprietor wants to keep his house. For the 
most thorough care, one man can manage, of roses, 5.000 
to 6,000 sq. ft. of glass. 

10. Last season, I used 8^4 tons of Hocking Valley 
lump coal per 1,000 sq. ft. of glass for roses, and 6)4 tons 
for carnations and violets mixed. I use steam. 

If a man is not bothered by visitors he can care for 
two rose houses 20 x 125 ft. If this amount of glass were 
in four houses, he could not care for it well. 

11. If built in a range of say ten houses, heated with 
steam, it would require for each house about 18 tons of 
soft (lump) coal. In a smaller range, the heating would 
cost more. 

One good man can care for two such houses ; or if 
help is furnished occasionally and no propagating is 
done, more glass can be cared for. 



expenses for heat and labor. 1$ 

Minnesota — 

12. In one season I used 470 tons of Illinois coal (cost- 
ing $1,424) in four houses 16x200 ft., four houses 16 x 100 
ft., and nine houses 20x90 ft. The next season I added 
two houses 35x200 ft. each, and then used 850 tons, 
costing $3,238. By rearranging the steam pipes, I heated 
these same houses the following two winters with 649 
tons and 608 tons respectively. 

Indiana — 

13. I use natural gas, and cannot give figures. 

One good man should attend to four such houses, if he 
has help for four weeks in planting, etc. 

14. A three-fourths span house, 20 ft. wide and 11 ft. 
high, in an exposed place, cost us in 1895-6 at the rate of 
$89.04 for a house 100 ft. long (coal $2 per ton). We can 
reduce this figure somewhat by careful management. An 
equal span, 20 ft, wide and 10 ft. high, cost us about 
$35.20 per 100 ft. This house is on the sheltered side of 
the range. (This correspondent is on the Ohio river.) 

One good workman should attend to about five such 
houses, in roses. 

Illinois — 

15. It cost me last winter (1895-6) for coal, for rose 
house 20x100 ft., — as nearly as I can figure the propor- 
tion,— $50, with soft coal at $2.30 per ton, and the use of 
some slack at 75 cents and $1 per ton. This house is 
three-fourths span and 12 ft. high. 

In my place, where cut flowers and pot plants are both 
handled, and with a retail trade to wait on, it requires 
about one man to a house 20 x 100 ft. If I were growing 
only roses, I should not need so much help. 

Pennsylvania — 

16. Such a house in roses here (Philadelphia) would 
require about 12 tons of pea coal at $3.25, or 9 tons of 
larger size at $5.50. 

An experienced rose grower ought to manage 5,000 



14 INTRODUCTORY SUGGESTIONS. 

sq. ft. of glass. If a variety of stuff is grown, twice the 
help is necessary. 

17. With hot water, 15 tons egg hard coal. 

One good man should give good results in two houses 
20 X 100 ft. 

18. I burn on an average 200 tons of hard coal per 
year to heat ten houses 9X 100 ft., 8 ft. to ridge, and four 
houses 21 X 140 ft., 10 ft. to ridge. Temperature at 
night, 50° to 60°. 

I want one man to each 5,000 sq. ft., if there is little 
potting to do, 

19. In tomato growing, it costs me about $50 per year 
for such a house, with coal at I3.30 per ton. 

One spry workman should do the work in two tomato 
houses 20 X 100 ft. 

20. Two houses 20 x 100 ft. of tomatoes will keep one 
man occupied. As usually heated hereabouts ["Carna- 
tion belt," Chester county], the firing could be done by 
the same person if he is an interested participant in the 
crop returns. The tomato ranges are usually two or four 
houses heated with hot water circulation, and seldom 
require re-coaling during the night. 

21. I have had no experience with growing roses. With 
carnations I find that it takes about 5 tons (long) coal for 
1,000 feet of glass. Some winters rather more, but mostly 
less. I find it takes about this, no matter what system of 
heating is used (flue or hot water), if used with all care 
in both cases. But by using pea coal in our horizontal 
tubular boiler we effect a saving in cost, as it takes little 
or no more pea coal than it does broken or egg. 

In our business it takes about one man to 5,000 sq. ft, 
of glass, during the forcing season. 
New Jersey — 

22. My rose house, 20 x80 ft,, consumes about 9 or 10 
tons of coal yearly. 

Two houses, 20 x 100 ft., are enough for one man in rose 
growing, and he should have a boy to assist him in busy 



EXPENSES FOR HEAT AND LABOR. I5 

times. In large establishments, two men working to- 
gether can turn off as much as three men working alone 
in small establishments. 

Kentucky— 

23. For ordinary winters (southwestern Kentucky), 250 
bus. coal at 10 cents. For severe winters, 350 bus. 

One man will care for three such houses. 

Washington — 

24. To heat a 2ox 150 ft. house, three-fourths span, 10 ft. 
high, for tomatoes, will cost here (Seattle) about $50 per 
year with 4-ft. fire wood at $1 per cord. I use steam. 

Two men will take care of the crops and do the firing 
for two houses 20x112 ft., one house 52x150 ft., one 
house 20x150 ft., and three houses 20x80 ft. 

Note. — The reader will find tables for computing the radiating and 
grate surfaces in the heating of glasshouses, and other greenhouse 
matter, in the last edition of The Horticulturist's Rule-Book. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

It is of the greatest importance that the most particu- 
lar attention be given to the construction of the forcing- 
house, for it is by means of this structure that the gar- 
dener is to make and maintain the cUmate in which his 
crops are to be grown. It is not the purpose of this book, 
however, to give a manual of instructions for the building 
of glass houses, but it may be advisable to make a few 
summary statements respecting some of the features which 
are particularly useful to forcing-houses, and then refer the 
reader to other treatises for more detailed instruction.* 

TYPES AND FORMS OF HOUSES. 

Forcing-houses should be of the simplest possible con- 
struction. Every feature in their make-up should be char- 
acterized by directness. The walks and benches should be 
straight and of uniform width. The greatest possible 
amount of space should be reserved for the actual grow- 
ing of the plants, by making the walks narrow (not more 
than two feet in most commercial houses) and by carrying 
the heating pipes and construction timbers out of the reach 
of the plants to be grown. The side walls of forcing-houses 

*The best current American text upon the subject is Taft's 'Green- 
house Construction," published by the Orange Judd Co. The reader 
may also find some suggestions upon these and similar topics in Wink- 
ler's "Vegetable Forcing," Columbus, O., 1896; and also in Dreer's 
"Vegetables Under Glass," which comes to hand just as these pages 
are going through the press. 

(16) 



REQUIREMENTS OF A FORCING-HOUSE. 



17 



are onh' high enough to allow of room for the plants to be 
grown under the glass, or, in the case of shed-houses, to 
give a proper slope to the roof. It is a common practice to 
secure head room in the forcing-house by sinking the walks 
below the ground level. In this way, the house is kept low, 
thus saving in cost of construction and^in exposure to winds. 
Such sunken walks are shown in Figs, i and 3 (pages 17 and 
18). It is always handier, however, to have the main walks 
on a level with the surface, thus avoiding steps in passing to 
and from the establishment. In wet or springy ground it is 




/. A simple even-span, 10 feet wide. 



important to avoid sinking the house. The roof of the 
forcing-house should be as flat as is consistent with the 
ready shedding of rain and snow, in order that all the 
plants may grow close under the roof; for it should be 
said that plants are usually more stocky and productive 
and healthy when grown near the glass. The house should 
be of the lightest possible construction in order to gain 
sunlight, particularly if tomatoes, melons, cauliflowers and 
other sun-loving plants are to be grown. 

There are three general types or shapes of houses in 
common use for the forcing of vegetables. These are : The 



i8 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 




roof with an even span, those with a lean-to or true shed 

roof, and those with an 
uneven or broken roof. 
These various types of 
houses are illustrated in 
the accompanying dia- 
grams. Figs. I and 2 
show the ordinary types 
of an even-span house, 
Figs. 3 and 4 (page 19) 
forms of an uneven or 
broken span, and Figs, 5, 6 and 7 (pages 20, 21 and 22), of 
a lean-to or shed house. The older type of forcing-house 
was rather narrow in proportion to its width ; that is, it 
was rarely more than 20 feet wide, whilst the length might 
vary from 50 to 300 feet. A house of this width is propor- 
tionately more difficult to heat and to manage than one of 
greater width, and the tendency at the present time is to- 
wards much wider houses, especially in establishments 
where a large product is expected to be grown. The wide 
house, however, when built with a gable roof, becomes too 



2. A simple two-walk even-span house, 
2oJ'eet wide. 




K. 






fe^E^^ 



3. A broken or uneven span, 20 feet wide, on a side hill. 

high to admit of economical construction and heating, and 
the plants are also too far removed from the glass for 
best results. It is necessary, therefore, in these very 



NESTING OF HOUSES. 



19 



wide houses, to treat the building as a shed, and to take 
extra care in making the roof strong and tight. 

A single house, standing by itself, is always more difficult 
and expensive to heat and to manage than a range of houses. 
It is, therefore, very important that houses should not only 
be heated, so far as possible, from one central system, but 
also that the houses should lie alongside of each other so 
that the interior walls may answer for two houses, and that 
one house may protect another from sweeping winds. For 




4. A broken roof on the level, 18 feet wide, with sloping 
center bench. 

purposes of convenience in repairing the roof, and to avoid 
injury by snow, it is better to have these parallel houses 
separated from each other by a space or alley of two or 
three feet ; but inasmuch as this doubles the number of 
walls and exposes every wall to the weather, this method 
of construction is rarely used for small houses in this 
country. Two contiguous houses are allowed to rest upon 
a common wall, but the gutter between the two is made 
deep and wide so that the water may be carried off quickly, 
and a workman may walk through it when repairing or 
painting the roof. In the case of very large houses, how- 
ever (say those 35 ft. or more wide and 200 ft. or more 

3 FORC. 



20 



THE C^ONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 




~S 



long), which are large 
enough to make and control 
their own temperature and 
to employ all the time of a 
man, it is probably better, 
for the sake of the conve- 
nience of hauling to and from 
them and the ease of repair- 
ing the roofs, to have them 
separated from other houses 
by a space two or three rods, 
or more, wide. 

It is probably true that 
the best direction or expos- 
ure for an even-span house 
is from north to south, be- 
cause both sides of the struc- 
ture then receive an equal 
amount of sunlight during 
the twenty-four hours. It is 
not always j^racticable, how- 
ever, to run the houses north 
and south, and when it is 
not, it is better to run them 
directly east and west, and 
to break the roof into un- 
even spans. Just which span 
should face the south, whether 
the long one or the short 
one, is a matter of dispute. 
It probably depends very 
largely uj:)on the khid of 
i:)lants to l)e grown, and 
the slope of the land, and 
upon the exact exposure ; 
but it is, no doubt, true that, 
for general conditions, the 



THE SHED ROOF HOUSE. 



21 






mi 1 p'^^^ 



\\ \\ w 



,» -^^ 












^ 



^f^\ "^^ 









1 • $ 

















.^ 




22 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 




HOUSES TO BE RECOMMENDED. 



23 



long span should face the 
sun. The short-span-to-the- 
soulh greenhouse, of which 
much has been said in recent 
years, is built with a very 
steep, short south roof, with 
the purpose of intercepting 
nearly all the sun's rays and 
carrying them directly back 
into the farthermost corners 
of the house. Where high 
plants are to be grown near 
the front of the house, how- 
ever, so much shade is cast 
upon the rear plants as to 
seriously interfere with their 
growth. These houses have 
not yet come into general 
use for vegetable forcing, 
and they need not be fur- 
ther considered in this sum- 
mary account. 

Of the various houses 
which are represented in the 
accompanying illustrations. 
Fig. I is the least satisfac- 
tory for forcing purposes, be- 
cause of its narrowness. In 
such slim houses there is 
not a sufficient body of air 
to guard against rapid fluc- 
tuations of temperature. 
They cool off quickly ; and 
with variations in temper- 
ature there arise serious 
difliculties with insects and 
fungi. Fig. 2 is an excellent 







'»¥»» 





e 


i -^ 


%^^^i 




Hi 






^"m 


i 


■^ 








1 



?vHi 






11 



#^ 




24 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE, 

house for a small or ordinary establishment, and is a good 
type for the beginner. The same remarks may be made for 
Fig. 3, except that the unequal elevations of the walks and 
beds make it unhandy. Such a side-hill house, however, 
brings the glass very close to the greatest number of 
plants, — a result which is sometimes sought by elevat- 
ing the benches in the center of even-span houses, but 
this raises the beds so high as to make them awkward. 
Fig. 4 is an excellent type of house. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are 
probably the best types for very large establishments. 
Fig. 7 (page 22) covers the entire back yard of a city lot. 
These shed roofs are most easy to build and to keep in 
repair. The absence of gutters is a most important feature, 
for the gutter is the part of the frame which is most difficult 
to properly construct and which generally soonest gives out. 
It is advisable, in cases where an entire range or nest of 
houses is to be permanently used for one given crop, to omit 
entirely the side walls, and to simply place the plates and 
gutters on the tops of posts or pillars, allowing the spaces 
between the posts to remain open. This construction results 
in throwing the whole range into practically a single house, 
keeping the structure low, with considerable economy of 
heat and labor. Such a construction is never admissible, 
however, when it is expected that the different houses of 
the range are to be used for the growing of plants re- 
quiring different degrees of heat and moisture. The 
range of nine houses shown at the left in Fig. 8 (page 
23) are open beneath the gutters in this way, and Fig. 9 
(page 25) is a crosswise view in them. The reader sees 
a gutter near the top of the picture, with a steam pipe 
running along the plate, and the man is sitting under the 
second gutter. 

SOME OF THE STRUCTURAL DETAILS. 

The frame.— The framing of a forcing-house is well 
explained by F^gs. 10 and 11 (pages 26 and 27), These 
pictures represent the common rafter-and-sash-bar house. 



THE PARTITION WALLS OMITTED. 



25 







26 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 



In Fig. ID the rafters are in place, and on the further 
half the sash-bars have been put in between them, being 
toe-nailed at the upper end to headers cut in between 
the rafters. The space above these headers is to be cov- 
ered by the ventilator sash. 

It is verv doubtful, however, if it is ever necessary to use 




10. Putting up a rafter-and'Sash-bar house. 

rafters in the construction of a forcing-house. The entire 
roof should be built wholly of sash-bars, which run from the 
sill or the plate to the peak, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13 
(pages 28 and 29). This construction admits the greatest 
amount of light to the house, and is also less expensive. 
If purlines of steam pipe are freely used upon which to rest 



THE FRAMEWORK. 



27 



the sash-bars, each bar being secured to the purline by a 
loop of strap iron, the house may be made as stiff as 
the old-time rafter-built frame. Fig. 14 (page 31 ) shows the 
interior of Figs. 12 and 13. The house (used for tomatoes) 
is 24 feet wide, 11 feet high at the ridge and 4 feet at the 
eaves, with sash-bars 13 feet long. These bars have a body 
measure oi i^xiji inches, and carry glass 14x24 inches. 
They are supported in the center by a iX-i"ch pipe. A 




//. ConstyucLioK of a raftey-and-sash bar frame. 



row of these pipe supports upon either side of the house is 
the only intermediate support which the roof receives ; yet 
this house stands in an exposed place and has withstood 
several severe gales without the slightest injury. A similar 
sash-bar construction is shown in Fig. 15 (page 32), Another 
is seen in Fig. 16 (page 34), but in this case the bars are 
nailed to wooden plates which rest upon pipe supports. 



28 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 




<> 



3 



« 
S 



a 



THE DETAILS OF THE SASH-BAR. 



29 



The sash-bar. — There is much diversity of opinion re- 
specting the best form of sash-bar. Common types are 
shown, half natural size, in Fig. 17 (page 35). The shoul- 
ders at the top are to receive the edges of the panes of 
glass. The cap upon the sample at the right is to hold 
the glass in place when the panes are butted, a matter to 
be explained shortly. The grooves in the sides of the 
bars are designed to catch the water which condenses on 
the glass, carrying it down to the plate, and thereby 
preventing the "drip." 

For myself, after long study of glass houses, I am con- 
vinced that this groove has little if any value. It weaken 
the bar and adds to its cost. It rarely catches all or even 
most of the water, for the condensation flows downwards 
off the pane, and not sidewise. It is said that the condensa- 
tion may be carried into the grooves by taking care to lay 







13. Houses with sash-bar frames. 



the crowning side of the pane up, thereby having the hollow 
side underneath ; but good glass should have very little or 
no crown, and it is rarely possible to make sufficient slant 
towards the bar to carry the water to it. But I should con-. 



30 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

sider the draining of the water into the groove to be the 
very thing to be avoided, for it is then discharged at the 
bottom of the bar into the joint with the plate, and hastens 
decay in one of the very weakest points in the frame. I now 
use entirely a perfectly plain sash-bar, which is " run " from 
white pine at the home mill. Its form is shown in Fig. i8 
(page 35). For ordinary roofs, and glass not more than 12 
inches wide, these bars may he i x i)4 or 1% x.i}( inches in 
body measure. The illustration shows a cross-section of a 
heavy bar, at one-half natural size. In lots of 1,000 lineal 
feet, this bar costs us the price of the lumber plus I4 for 
"running." If the grooves were added, the cost of "run- 
ning" would be about $6. In large quantities, these prices 
could be much reduced. In very wide roofs of little slope, 
and especially when very large glass (18 to 20 inches wide) 
is used, a bar 2x3 inches is safest and best. Such bars will 
hold a man's weight. If the house is properly glazed, 
there will be no "drip" of consequence. 

The plate. — Perhaps the shortest lived part of the frame 
of the ordinary glass house is the plate at the eaves. Much 
of the condensation upon the glass finds its way to the plate, 
and if the glass is butted, all the condensation strikes it 
which does not fall in "drip." In the very wide shed roof or 
broken-roof houses, the front plate (upon the lower wall) 
receives nearly all the roof drainage, and this is the one, 
therefore, to be chiefly protected. The plate, therefore, 
soon decays unless the greatest care is taken to give it a 
bold slant, and to keep it well painted. Fig. 19 (page 36) 
shows an excellent plate, half-size, cut from a pine or cy- 
press stick. A plate with half the slope of the side A B will 
still hold the water in globules and miniature pools, partic- 
ularly after the paint has begun to blister. In order to 
prevent the water from following back on the plate and 
keeping the wall wet, a groove like that at a, a, in Figs. 
20 and 25 (pages 37 and 39), is useful. A similar one on 
the outside of the plate will keep the rain from following 
down the wall. If the drip from the inner edge of the plate 



FRAMEWOKK OF A TOMATO HOUSE. 



31 




32 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-MOUSE. 




^ 



rN 






X 



THE PLATE AND THE GUTTER. 33 

is annoying, it may be caught in a little trough and carried 
away. The best trough for this purpose is made from a pirje 
strip i>4 inches thick and 2 inches deep, with a \'-shaped 
groove sawed in the top. This trough, freshly painted on 
the back, is nailed to the wall in such position that the 
bottom of the groove lies directly beneath the corner of 
the plate. 

All tenons or mortises should be avoided upon the plate, 
or in any other place where the wood is likely to remain 
moist. The simplest and most efficient union of sash-bar 
.md plate is shown in Fig. 20 (page 37), in which the l)ar is 
nailed on top of the outward slope of the plate. Figs. 24 
and 25 (page 39) show a similar construction, except that 
the rafter is used and is toe-nailed to the inward slope of the 
plate. If much water is likely to follow down the sash-bar, 
it is a good practice to place a tin shoe or trough under- 
neath the foot of the l)ar (between it and the plate) to 
carry off the water, as illustrated in Fig. 21 (page 37). 
Where the sash-bar strikes the ridge-pole, a notch or half- 
mortise may be used, as in Fig. 22 (page 38), but even here 
it is usually preferable to simply toe-nail the bars on, as in 
Fig. 23 (page 38). 

The gutter is ordinarily l)uilt of lumber, a heavy plank 
forming its bottom, as in Figs. 24 and 25 (page 39). In 
order to keep this plank from warping, it is advisable to 
saw a slit across each end and to drive a bar of iron into it, 
as seen in Fig. 26 (page 40). The life of the gutter may l)e 
much prolonged by tinning it. A sharp fall will also add 
to its life and to the ease of keeping it clean. In some 
cases, the entire house is built upon a pitch in order to give 
a proper fall to the gutter, but in general it is best to 
build the house level and to give the gutter an indepen- 
dent slope. Upon masonry walls, a good gutter is made 
by leaving a trough on top and plastering it thoroughly 
with Portland cement. 

Walls. — The best side walls, in point of durability, are 



34 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 




WALLS AND VENTILATORS. 



35 



vmj: 



\ 




Two types of sash-bars. 



made of brick or stone, but unless they are very thick or are 
hollow they are likely to be colder than a well built board 
wall upon posts. The space represented by the thickness of 
the posts affords an admirable 
dead air space. Nearly all com- 
mercial forcing-houses are upon 
posts, and it is comnnjnly said 
that such walls will last as long, 
as the plate will. This is proba- 
bly true, but the plates, as usually ^ ) 

made, are unnecessarily short \ 
lived. A forcing-house should I 
stand fifteen or twenty years ^ 
without extensive repairs, if well ^7. 
built ; and if the side walls are 

of masonry (stone or cement), the plates well made, the 
roof so well supported that it cannot sag, and the whole 
freshly painted every year or two, the structure should 
stand nearly a life time. Good board walls are shown in 
Figs. 20 and 25. In each, there is an air- 
space between the posts. In Fig. 20, there 
are two air-spaces. The sheathings cover- 
ing the posts are shown at b b, the post 
at p, and the siding at c. This wall, if 
well built, is no doubt as warm as a 12- 
inch solid brick wall.* 

Ventilators. — The house should have 
ample provision for ventilating it, yet it is 
•* Ws * easy to get the openings so large that the 
18. A plain ^«j/i!- temperature of the interior may be lowered 
^' ■ too suddenly and too far when the sash are 

lifted. In windy days, it is impossible to open very large 
sash at all without letting in too much cold air to the 
plants immediately underneath. Many small sash are pref- 















1 




ra 








CO 


^ 






f^ 




CO 


w C 






J2 x: 




TO 


r 










-C 






CO ^ 














X 






Ul 


_o 



* Experiments with greenhouse walls have been made at the Mmne- 
sota Station (Bull. 7) and the Massachusetts Station (Bull. 4). 

4 FORC. 



36 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

erable to a few very large ones. The house shown in 
Figs. 12 and 13, which is unusually light and fully exposed 
to the sun, is ventilated by a continuous double row of 
sash a foot wide, and this width is sufficient for all narrow 
even-span houses. Uneven spans may require ventilators 
a foot and a half in width, and I should think that two 
feet would be the utmost desirable width for any ordinary 
purpose. It is generally unnecessary to have side venti- 
lators in forcing-houses whose side walls are under four 
feet in height. In general, it is best to hang the ventilators 
at the bottom, thereby allowing the heated air to pass 
out at the very peak. If a row of sash is placed upon 
either side, and each row is operated by a separate mech- 

Line B C to face outside 
of house and Sash Bars 
to nail to it 



Ideal Plate, made from a 4 x 6 stick 
The inner edge at (A) dressed down to 1 inch thick 



/?. A good forcing-house plate. 

anism, the most perfect means of ventilation will be 
secured. In the very wide shed houses, ventilators upon 
the sides may be necessary. 

The glass and glazing. — Glass for forcing-houses should 
always be double-thick, not single-thick. The double-thick 
glass may be expected to save its extra cost within a year 
or two in the less breakage, and it makes better joints 
and ai warmer house than the single-thick. The difference 
in cost between the two grades may be indicated by stat- 



GLASS AND GLA2ING. 



37 



iiig that when the price per box (of 22 Hghts) of single 
thick glass, 14x24, vvas|2.25, 
the cost of double-thick was 
I2.85. 

There are two styles or 
methods of laying glass, — the old- 
time or common method of lap- 
ping it, and the butting it end to 
end. The advantages of the but- 
ting method are supposed to be 
the greater ease and speed of lay- 
ing the roof, a tighter roof, one 
which admits more light because 
of the absence of laps, and econ- 
omy of glass. The style of bar 
to be used for butting is one wuth 
a very shallow muntin or projec- 
tion on top, as in 

.1 , , ,1 20. IValL plate, and sash-bar. 

that shown on the '^ 

right in Fig. 17. The glass is not laid in 
putty*, but it is advisable to have the bar 
freshly painted in order to close the joint 
with the glass. The panes are laid end to 
end, and are held in place, when an entire 
run has been laid, by screwing down a cap, 
as shown in the illustration. It is often 
advised to cover the ends of 

■ ' the panes with a thin fihn of 

white lead, in order to cement 
the panes together and thus 
close the joints. All the lead 





which is squeezed out of the 

Tin gutter at foot of the joint is. afterwards scraped off, 
sash-bar. so as to make a clean and 



*A durable putty for glazing purposes is made bj* mixing pure whit- 
ing in oil, and then using about three parts of this, by weight, to one of 
pure white lead, mixing the ingredients thoroughly. 



38 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 




22. Mortice-joint at the ridge 



smooth job. After considerable experience with butted 
o-lass, the writer has abandoned it. It is practically im- 
possible, with any ordinary grade of 
glass, to make a perfectly smooth joint 
between the panes, and at 
every irregularity or rough- 
ness at the joints the water 
will collect and drip off. 
This difficulty is particu- 
larly liable to occur if panes 
are used which are over 
twelve or fourteen inches wide. It is rare, also, that the 
panes are squarely enough cut to make perfectly tight 
joints possible. Another serious objection to butted glass 
is the fact that all the water of condensation which does 
not fall as drip is carried down upon the plate, keeping it 
constantly wet and tending to make it decay. The drip 
from the plate is often a serious nuisance, particularly if 
there are heating pipes directly beneath from which a con- 
stant shower of vapor arises. In lapped glass, the con- 
densed water follows down the pane and passes out through 
the lap onto the roof. If glass is to be butted, only the 
double-thick should be used. The single-thick grade is 
too irregular and uneven in thickness and curvature to allow 
of making good joints ; and 
its very thinness makes it 
impossible to secure suffi- 
cient contact to 
make a tight job. 
In. the lapping 
of glass, the panes 
are bedded in soft 
putty, and are 
then held from 
slipping down by 
a straight shoe- 
nail at each lower 2^. Plain joints at the ndge. 




GLASS AND GLAZING. 



39 




corner (a a, Fig. 27, page 41 ), and are held firmly to the bar 
by glaziers' pomts (ee, Fig. 27). The panes are 
seen edgwise, in cross-section, at b in Fig. 27. It is 
important, to avoid breakage, that no nail or point 
he placed on the middle of the pane. No putty 
is placed over the glass, for, in the nearly hori- 
zontal or inclined position in which the panes lie, 
the water would collect underneath any such putty 
and would crack it off by freezing. If the panes 
are well bedded, and if the bars and the edges of 
the glass are given a coat of paint, the job will 
be perfectly tight. It is imperative that the lap on 
the panes should be very short. A long lap col- 
lects dirt and thereby obstructs the light, and it 
also holds so much water that the freezing of it tir.and r after 
snaps the corners of the panes. A lap of a quarter ^"'^ sash-bar. 
of an inch, or at most of three-eighths inch, is ample. In this 
narrow lap the water of condensation collects and makes a 
warm joint. 

There has been a tendency in recent years towards the 
use of very large glass. Panes as large as 20x36 inches 
have been used. These seem to be too wide for economy, 
and they impose severe strains upon the sash-bars, and 

f,/^ weaken the 
rigidity of the 
house. The 
glass bears too 
great a pro- 
portion to the 
structural 




frame of the roof. It is 
doubtful if it is wise to use 
glass above 14 or 16 inches 
wide, and, through inquiry 
and experience, the writer 



Wall, gutter, plates, rajters, . 



has now settled upon 14 x 18 



and sask-bars. 



inches as about the best size 



40 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 




26. If on cleat in a gutter-board. 



for all purposes. Indeed, I should prefer glass 12 inches 
wide to that which is 18 inches wide. 
Beds and benches. — Those plants 
which thrive best without bottom heat, 
as lettuce generally does, are most 
commonly grown in solid 
is, on the earth. Those 
crops requiring bottom 
heat must be grown on 
benches. The height of 
these benches above the 
ground must be deter- 
mined wholly by circumstances. The first thing to con- 
sider is to secure sufficient head room for the plants, or, in 
the instance of low plants, to get them near to the glass. 
Benches will run from a foot to three feet above the ground. 
They are handiest when the extreme height is about two feet 
and the width not over three and a half or four feet. The 
depth of the bed (that is, of the soil) varies with different 
operators from 5 to 10 inches. As a rule, with good soil, 
6 or 7 inches of earth is sufficient. A greater body of 
earth is likely to make a too continuous growth, with 
consequent loss of earliness, and it requires more care 
in the watering if it should become hard or somewhat 
impervious to water. Benches are ordinarily built of 
common lumber. One-inch hemlock boards, in single 
thickness, will last about three winters if the soil is removed 
in the summer. Cracks of a half inch or a little more 
should be left between the boards, and it is then not neces- 
sary to place drainage material — as broken crocks or 
clinkers — on the bottoms of the beds. With shiftless 
watering, however, no amount of drainage material can 
insure safe results. 

HEATING. 

steam and hot water. — Modern forcing-houses are 
heated by either steam or hot water in wrought-iron pipes. 



STEAM VS. HOT WATER. 



41 



The old method of heating by means of the large cast iron 
pipes is not adapted to the forcing business. The com- 
parative merits of steam and water as media for conveying 
heat have been much discussed in recent years, with the 
result that neither system has gained a complete victory. In 
other words, each system has peculiar merits. Our own 
experience emphasizes the greater value of steam, but we 
do not condemn hot water. We believe that steam is 
superior for very large houses where the fall is slight, for 




The laying of lapped glass. 



most forcing-houses, and for all establishments which are 
likely to be often modified and extended. It is particularly 
desirable in the forcing of such "warm" plants as tomatoes 
and melons. For conservatory purposes, for straight runs 
and small and cool houses, it is equaled— probably sur- 
passed in many instances — by water. Stearn overcomes 



42 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

obstacles, as elbows and angles and obstructions, better than 
hot water. It travels faster and farther. Crooked runs with 
little fall are great difficulties in hot water heating. Steam 
can be varied more quickly than hot water. On the other 
hand, steam is as steady as hot water under proper manage- 
ment, and it requires but little more attention. Practically 
the same treatment is required by both water and steam 
heaters. Plants thrive as well under steam heat as under 
hot water heat. The opinion that steam heat is a "dry 
heat" is erroneous. Hot water heating demands from a half 
to twice more piping than steam heating, and the original 
cost is, therefore, greater. This additional piping has a cer- 
tain advantage, however, inasmuch as each pipe is less hot 
than in steam systems and is less likely to injure plants 
which stand close to it. This ad\antage is not great, how- 
ever, especially in forcing establishments, where no injury 
need ever come from hot steam pipes. There is no uniform 
advantage in consumption of fuel in either system. Theo- 
retically, hot water is probably more economical than steam, 
but in practice the cost is determined largely by the particu- 
lar pattern of heater and the general efficiency of the sys- 
tem. Some tests show water to be the more economical, 
and other tests give the advantage to steam. In other 
words, the fuel consumption is largely a local (juestion. 

The summary results of various experiments upon the 
comparative merits of steam and water for heating plant 
houses, made at Cornell University (and reported in Bulle- 
tins 41, 55 and 96), are as follows •/'' 

1. The temperatures of steam pipes average higher than 
those of hot water pipes, under common conditions. 

2. When the risers or flow pipes are overhead, the steam 
spends relatively more of its heat in the returns, as bottom 
heat, than tiie water does. 



* Other sUiiiics in .q;lass house heating will he IouikI in Bulletins 4, 6, 8 
and 15 of the Massachusetts Hatch Station ( hy S. T. Maynard ), and in 
Bulletin 63 of the Michigan Station (hy L. R. Taft). In these experi- 
ments, water gave the hetter results. 



STEAM VS. HOT WATER. 43 

3. The heat from steam distributes itself over a great 
length of pipe more readily than that from hot water, and 
steam, therefore has a distinct advantage for heating long 
runs. 

4. Steam is preferable to hot water for irregular and 
crooked circuits. 

5. Unfavorable conditions of piping can be more readily 
overcome with steam than with water. 

6. The addition of crooks and angles in pipes is deci- 
dedly disadvantageous to the circulation of hot water^ 
and of steam without pressure ; but the effect is scarcely 
perceptible with steam under low pressure. 

7. In starting a new fire with cold water, circulation be- 
gins with hot water sooner than with steam, but, in ordina- 
rily long runs, it requires a longer time for the water to 
reach a point where the temperature of the house is ma- 
terially affected than for the steam to do so. 

8. The length of pipe to be traversed is a much more 
important consideration with water than with steam, for 
the friction of the water upon the pipe is much greater than 
the friction of steam, and a long run warms slowly with 
water. 

9. It is necessary to exercise greater care in grading pipes 
for water heating than for steam heating. With steam, a 
satisfactory fall towards the boiler is much more important 
than the exact manner of laying the pipes. 

10. In heating by water in closed circuits, a high expan- 
sion tank may increase the efficiency by allowing the water 
to become hotter throughout the system, and probably by 
giving a better circulation. 

Piping.— The arrangement of the pipes must be adjusted 
by the shape and size of the house and the crop to be 
grown. The "cool" plants, like lettuce and cauliflower 
(see page 5), do best without bottom heat, and for these 
crops the pipes should be above the soil or bed. The 
"warm" plants, like tomato, melon and cucumber, require 
bottom heat, and for these the return pipes, or some of 



44 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

them, should be underneath the bed. The steam or hot 
water is carried into the house by means of one or two 
pipes, — called risers when steam is used, and flow-pipes 
when water is used, — and is returned to the heater through 
from two to six times as many returns. The risers or flows 
are usually carried into the house overhead, and the returns 
are carried underneath the benches, along the walls, or the 
sides of the walks. Aside from the greater number of pipes 
required in water heating, there is little difference in the 
methods of piping for the two systems. The highest point 
in the steam riser should be directly over the heater, or, 
when this is not practicable, it should be at the near end of 
the house or the system, and the riser should gradually fall 
from this point to the far end of the house. This gives a 
down-hill system. It is generally considered that the 
highest point in the water flow-pipe should be at the far end 
of the house or system. This is an up-hill system. Flow- 
pipes should not be less than 2 inches in diameter for runs 
of 60 ft., while steam may be carried in a r^-inch riser 
under similar circumstances. In water runs of this length, 
there should be two risers for houses 16 to 20 feet wide, 
particulary if warm plants are to be grown. 

The amount of pipe required for special cases may be 
determined by examining some of the plans and illustra- 
tions. Fig. I illustrates two methods of piping. It may be 
piped by running a water flow- pipe underneath the bench 
on either side and carrying back two returns under each 
flow. This type of heating is not common. In such cases, 
it would no doubt be necessary to keep the space under 
the benches open next the walk in order to heat the house. 
A commoner method is to carry a riser or flow overhead at 
X, and to bring back six returns from it. In Fig. 2, a 2- inch 
steam riser is carried overhead in the center, and it breaks 
into seven i^-inch risers underneath the benches. There is 
a similar arrangement in Fig. 3. These two houses would 
grow tomatoes in New York state. In Fig. 4, two 3-inch 
water flows near the peak supply six i^-inch returns under 



PIPING IN A TOMATO HOUSE. 



45 




28. Piping with hot vjater for tomato growing. 



46 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

the two upper benches, and another 3-inch flow and three 
i}^-inch returns heat the lower bed. This same house 
could be heated with steam by one 2-inch riser and six to 
eight I '2-inch returns. An exposed tomato house (Fig. 
14, page 31), is heated by a i^-inch steam riser which 
feeds a i-inch loop running around the house just under 
the plate, and four 1*4 -inch loops just above the soil. 
Another loop and a half (from an independent riser) runs 
about the center walk. In this house, the bottom heat 
is supplied by the heaters themselves, which stand just 
ibeneath the floor. The floor is made of two layers of 
inch boards, with tar between the layers. 

Fig. 15 (page 32), showing a house used for lettuce, 
cauliflowers, carnations and chrysanthemums, 20 ft. wide 
and 60 ft. long, is heated by one 2-inch steam riser and 
two i>^-inch returns under each side bench. The middle 
bench is solid, and has no bottom heat. Fig. 28 (page 45) 
shows the water returns in a tomato house near Philadel- 
phia. There are eight returns under each bench, the coil 
standing edgewise under the left-hand bench, and lying 
flat-wise under the other. 

Flues and stoves. — Beginners with little capital can make 
a very good forcing-house with old sash, and can heat the 
same with flues from a home-made furnace. Lettuce houses 
can even be heated with a coal stove. The novice will 
always do well to begin with a small and simple establish- 
ment, although it rarely pays to erect a very cheap house 
if it can be avoided. 

COST OF FORCING-HOl^SES. 

Only the most general remarks can be made respecting 
the cost of forcing-houses, for so much depends upon the 
finish, the expense put in foundations, and the experience 
and efficiency of the workmen. Taft estimates the expense 
of building a three-quarter span rose house, 20x100 ft., 
including heating apparatus, to average about ^1,100 to 



COST OF A FORCING-HOUSE, 47 

^1,200. A forcing-house 20X 60 ft., uneven-span, on posts, 
with heavy rafters and glazed with large sash, heated by 
steam, cost complete as follows, including a rough shed 
in which to place the heater : 

Lumber $99 61 

Carpenter work 72 75 

General labor 63 63 

Iron supports and plates 9 16 

39 sash 39 00 

Glass, 12 X 16 62 37 

Glazing 18 13 

Paint, oil, etc 14 52 

Hardware and miscellaneous 20 36 

$379 63 
Heating apparatus and piping 375 00 

1754 53 

The labor of building the benches was done by the 
gardener after the house was completed. 

vSeven years later, this house was wholly rebuilt, an 
entire new roof being put on and comprising only sash- 
bars and double-thick glass. This rebuilt house, with the 
upper bench not yet made, is shown in Fig. 15. The total 
cost of the new roof, new plates, one new bench, and 
general repairs, was as follows : 

52 sash-bars, 16 ft. long $18 78 

52 " 12 ft. long 14 08 

Work upon bars 14 33 

Sills 19 42 

Glass, 14 X iS 96 00 

150 ft. pine for ventilators 7 40 

50 panes glass for ventilators 10 00 

Putty and points 5 75 

Tinning So ft. gutter, and labor 13 08 

Painting, 2 coats 6 50 

Labor 80 48 

250 ft. pine for jambs and repairs, and hardware and inci- 
dentals 14 20 

I300 02 

In general, it may be said that a house 20 x 100 ft., 12 



48 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

feet high at the ridge, with no glass on the sides, on post 
wall, can be built for |;i,ooo to $1,200, steam heating plant 
complete, if the workmen about the place assist in the 
construction. 

A forcing-house 50x400 ft., broken span, with the rear 
roof 20 ft. wide and the front one 32 ft. wide, with the front 
wall 4 ft. high and the rear one 8 ft. high, 17 ft. high at the 
ridge, on post walls, glass 20 x 30 inches, sash-bars 2x3 
inches, was built, and fitted with steam, for ^6,000. 

The house shown in Figs. 5 and 6 (the property of Fred. 
Busch, Minneapolis) is 60x300 ft., with a mushroom shed 
16 X 300 ft. on the back. The total direct cash expense of 
this structure was |3,3oo. To this has to be added the 
work of the regular hired men in doing all the grading, the 
setting of the pipe posts for purlines, half of all the glazing 
work, all the work of steam fitting, and half of the paint- 
ing ; also 4,000 ft. of old pipe which had been used in hot- 
beds, and all the glass used in the gables and which had 
been taken from an old house which was torn down. The 
estimated expense of all this extra work and second-hand 
material is I700, making the total cost of the house, shed 
and all, $4,000. 

The range of nine houses shown at the left in Fig. 8, 
and again in Fig. 9 (also the property of Mr. Busch \ each 
house 20x90 ft., cost, complete, as lam informed by the 
owner, |;3,6oo. This is an unusually low cost, being only 
$400 per house. 



CHAPTER III. 



MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

Probably there is no horticultural industry in which 
experience counts for so much as in the management of 
plants in glass houses. Yet it is not essential that one 
"serve his time" in the business in order to learn it. Many 
of our best greenhouse men have taken up the occupation 
late in life, or have come to it from widely different voca- 
tions. Even then, they have come to their success by 
actually doing the work, but they shorten their period o' 
manual experience by bringing to bear upon their work 
all the helps of reading, observation, and reflection. Whilst 
it is impossible to teach a person how to run a greenhouse, 
it is nevertheless profitable to give certain hints and sug- 
gestions to direct the course of his effort. 

TEMPERATURES FOR THE VARIOUS CROPS. 

The following figures represent the approximate average 
temperatures at which winter vegetables are forced. The 
night temperatures are supposed to represent the lowest 
or minimum averages, and the day temperatures are taken 
in the shade in days of average sunshine : 

Cool Plants — 

Day Night 

Lettuce 55° to 60° 40° to 45° 

Radish 55° to 60° 45° to 50° 

Asparagus and rhubarb (when forced from 

established plants) 60° to 65° 55° 

Celery 60° to 65° 55° 

Cauliflower 60° to 70° 55° 

(49) 



50 MANAGEJJIENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

Warm Plants — 

Day Vight 

Tomato .... 75° 65° 

Cucumber 75° to 80° 65° to 70° 

Melon 75° to S50 65° to 70° 

Eggplant 75° to 80° 65° 

Pepper 75O 65O 

Asparagus and rhubarb (when forced 

from temporary roots) 75° to 85° 65° to 70° 

In bright days the temperature may run much higher than 
these figures, but if plenty of fresh air is given on such 
occasions no ill results should follow. 

SOILS FOR FORCED VEGETABLES. 

Forcing-house soils should not only be rich in available 
plant food, but they should be of a mellow and friable 
texture, so that the water soaks through them uniformly, 
leaving them dryish and loose on top. A soil with much 
clay tends to run together, or to cement itself, especially 
if watered from a hose, and the plants tend to make a 
spindling and unwilling growth. On the other hand, a soil 
with very much manure or litter is so loose as not to hold 
sufficient water to keep the plant in health ; or if it does 
hold the requisite moisture, it tends to produce a robust 
and over-willing growth at the expense of fruit. Yet, 
despite all this, the skill of the gardener is much more 
important than the character of the soil, for a skillful man 
will handle even hard clay soils in such manner as to give 
good results. The chief single factor of manipulation in 
determining the productivity of soil in forcing-houses is 
the watering, to which we shall presently advert. 

The best forcing-house soils are those which have a 
foundation of good garden loam, and are lightened up 
with sharp sand and some kind of fiber. This fiber is 
usually very well rotted manure, or rotted sods. Thin 
sods cut from an old pasture — especially from one which 
has a clay loam soil — and allowed to stand in a low flat 
pile for a year or so, being turned or forked over once or 



SOILS FOR THE FORCING-HOUSE. 51 

twice in the meantime, make a most excellent foundation 
for a greenhouse soil. A satisfactory mixture may be 
made by using one-third of these rotted sods, one-third of 
mellow garden loam, and one-third of fine old horse ma- 
nure which has not been leached. If the garden soil has 
itself been well enriched with stable manures, it will not 
be necessary to add so much in the mixture. If the 
completed soil contains so much clay as to be sticky, the 
addition of sand will correct it. I^eaf mold (not leaves) 
in limited quantity is a most excellent substitute for ma- 
nure. Broken and pulverized peat may also be used. It 
is always important that the materials used in the forcing- 
house soil should be fine and well broken down by the 
processes of decay. Fresh and undecomposed materials 
give variable and unpredictable results : they are the 
"raw" soils of gardeners. Heavy clays are to be avoided 
in the making of forcing-house soils, particularly if one 
desires to grow the heading lettuces. 

The forcing-house soil is mixed by shoveling the ingre- 
dients from piles into a central common pile, a given num- 
ber of shovelfuls from each, and then shoveling the mixture 
over once or twice. It is a good practice to cover the 
bottom of the bench — especially for melons and cucum- 
bers — with inverted sods, and then to put on the pre- 
pared soil. Many gardeners do not take this trouble of 
mixing the soil, and it is not necessary if one is able to 
find a natural soil to his liking ; but unless the right soil 
is at hand, it is always safer to take this extra pains 
rather than to rely upon an indifferent soil. One cannot 
afford to take any unnecessary risks in the forcing of 
vegetables. 

When the crops are grown on benches — as those must 
be which require bottom-heat — it is necessary to change 
the soil every year. This is because the soil loses texture 
or fiber and becomes partially exhausted of available plant 
food, and it is likely to contain the spores of fungi or the 
eggs of insects. Houses in which the soil remains un- 

5 FORC. 



52 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

changed rarely long remain free of serious insect or fun- 
gous invasions ; and in selecting soils for houses, it is of 
the utmost importance to avoid bringing in grubs, cut- 
worms, wire-worms, tomato rust, and the like. It is per- 
fectly possible to add plant food to the old soil, but it is 
impossible to restore its texture by that means, and the 
physical texture is usually more important than its actual 
store of food. In the forcing of lettuce upon ground 
beds, it is not always essential to remove the earth every 
year, although an inch or two of the top must be re- 
moved if the mildew has been serious, and the soil should 
always be fertilized before another season of forcing is 
begun. The best growers prefer, however, to replace 
four or five inches of the top soil every summer. 

THE QUESTION OF FERTILIZERS. 

Most forcing-house crops need to be fertilized as they 
grow. This is particularly important for tomatoes, cucum- 
bers and melons. The fertilizer most liked by gardeners 
is liquid manure. This is made from old unleached cow 
manure (such as has been lying for some months in a barn 
basement). A bushel of it is placed in a half-barrel or tub 
an^ the receptacle is filled with water. After standing two 
or three days, being stirred occasionally in the meantime, 
the liquid is ready for use. This liquid must be reduced 
before it is applied to soil in which plants are growing, and 
the amount of reduction to give it can be determined only 
by experience. Ordinarily, one quart of liquid made as 
here directed will be sufficient for a gallon of the diluted 
material ; that is, one quart of the manure water is added 
to three quarts of clear water. If the manure is strong, 
the tub may be filled with water three or four times before 
the strength of the material is dissolved out. A tub of this 
manure liquid should always be accessible in forcing-house 
work. How often the liquid shall be applied to the crops 
must be determined for each particular case. If the soil is 



FERTILIZERS WITH TOMATOES. 53 

rich, the plants will not be likely to need the liquid manure 
in their young or maiden stage, but as soon as the melons 
or tomatoes are set the fertilizing will usually be appre- 
ciated. It is then sometimes profitable to apply it freely 
once or twice a week. 

There is very little exact knowledge respecting the use 
of chemical fertilizers for forcing-house crops. The best 
gardeners generally like to add bone flour or some com- 
mercial fertilizer to soils which have not already been 
well fertilized, and it is a common practice to work a 
dressing of bone into the soil after the plants become 
well established. 

The Connecticut experiments with tomatoes. — The best 
experiments which have been made in this country upon 
fertilizers for forced vegetables were conducted at the Con- 
necticut Experiment Station."^ These experiments were 
concerned with tomatoes and lettuce under glass. A full 
abstract of these studies, so far as they give direct horti- 
cultural results, will be useful and suggestive to the gar- 
dener and the student. 

"To those who are raising or contemplate raising 
winter crops under glass, the question of substituting fer- 
tilizers for manure, in part at least, is a very important 
one. Forcing-house soil, as it is usually prepared, con- 
sists of rich garden soil or rotted turf, composted with 
from one-fourth to one-half its bulk of horse manure. 
Aside from the labor of hauling and of repeatedly work- 
ing over this material to secure the fine mellow condition 
which is desired, the cost formerly was not great. But 
the general introduction of electric cars has cut down 
enormously the production of horse manure in cities, 
which has been the main dependence of our market 
gardeners. In consequence, the preparation of suitable 



* E. H. Jenkins and W. E. Britton in Nineteenth Rep. Conn. Agr. 
Exp. Sta. (for 1895), pp. 75-98. The reader may also find experiments 
upon forcing-house fertilizers in Bull. 10 (1890) and 15 (1891) of the 
Mass. Hatch Exp. Sta., and in Bull. 43 (1892) of the Ohio Station. 



54 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

soil for forcing-houses is increasingly expensive. Besides 
this, it is found that even a rich natural soil cannot carry 
forcing-house tomatoes to their highest productiveness, 
and therefore liquid manure is often used to water the 
soil after the plants have come into bearing. 

"The admirable work on the use of commercial fer- 
tilizers on field tomatoes done at the New Jersey Sta- 
tion has proved that the ripening of the crop may be 
very materially hastened by the proper use of fertilizer 
chemicals, especially of nitrate of soda.* To hasten 
the ripening of crops under glass, where the expense of 
growing them is so much greater than in the field, must 
greatly increase the profits of the business. 

"These considerations have led us to endeavor to 
determine with all possible accuracy how much plant 
food various forcing-house crops take from the soil dur- 
ing their growth, and whether commercial fertilizers can 
be used instead of stable manure, wholly or in part, to 
supply this plant food. A further question also con- 
nected with these is, whether the humus of rotted manure, 
generally regarded as necessary to regulate the storage 
and circulation of moisture in the soil under natural con- 
ditions, can be replaced by some cheap substitute, or 
dispensed with altogether in forcing-house culture, where 
the supply of soil moisture can be well regulated by 
artificial means." 

"Our first endeavor was to find out how much nitro- 
gen tomato plants raised under glass take from the soil, 
in their fruit and vines, and how much nitrogen needs to 
be in the soil to meet fully this demand of the plants. 
These questions we studied by raising tomatoes in plots 
on the forcing-house benches which were filled with a 
soil known to be practically free from availal^le nitrogen, 
but believed to contain all other ingredients necessary 



* [Similar, though less specific, results have been obtained by the Cor- 
nell Station. See its Bulletins X., XXI., 32,45.] 



FERTILIZERS WITH TOMATOES. 55 

for a maximum tomato crop. To these plots were added 
known quantities of nitrogen in form of nitrate of soda." 

Five plots (numbered from 4 to 8) were set aside in 
the center bed of a forcing-house, each plot containing 
about 14 square feet. The benches were 9 inches deep, 
and the artificial soils were filled in to the depth of 8 
inches. " The soil for each plot was separately mixed as 
follows : 300 pounds of anthracite coal ashes, sifted to 
pass a wire screen with four meshes to the inch, were 
spread on a cement floor, and 9 pounds of peat moss, 
such as is sold in the cities for stable bedding, screened 
like the ashes, were scattered over them. To these were 
added three and one-half ounces of precipitated carbon- 
ate of lime, to neutralize a slight acidity of the peat and 
give to the whole a mild alkaline reaction. These ma- 
terials were shoveled over twice carefully and then spread 
as before. 

"The fertilizers designed for the plot — [nitrate of soda, 
dissolved bone black, and muriate of potash] — were 
sprinkled over this mixture and the whole was carefully 
shoveled over twice again to secure as perfect a mixture 
as possible of fertilizers and soil, and then carried in a 
hand-barrow to the designated plot in the forcing-house. 

" The north bench in the same house was filled with a 
rich soil prepared by composting good thick turf with one- 
third its bulk of stable manure. Plants were set in this 
bench mainly to make a rough comparison between crops 
grown on the two radically different soils. The exposure 
of the two benches was slightly different, that of the north 
bench being, perhaps, somewhat less favorable as regards 
light. The plants set in the north bench were also much 
closer together. 

"Three varieties of tomatoes were used: Ignotum, 
Acme, and Dwarf Champion, two plants of each variety 
being set in each plot, and all receiving the same treat- 
ment." 

The tabular results of these experiments are as follows : 



56 



MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 



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FERTILIZERS FOR TOMATOES. 57 

Some of the horticultural statistics of these results are 
as follows : 

" I. The highest average weight per fruit of the Ignotum 
variety was on plot 6, of the Acme on plot 7, and of the 
Dwarf Champion on plot 8. 

"2. The tendency to bear double flowers, which pro- 
duced irregular-shaped fruit, seemed to bear no relation to 
the quantity of nitrogen applied, nor to the variety. The 
same plant produced both single and double blossoms. 

' ' 3. The number of perfect fruits was absolutely larger 
on the plots receiving most nitrogen, but there was no very 
marked relative increase in number. 

"4. Comparison of the three varieties shows that Acme 
gave the largest yield in artificial soil, but the yield of Igno- 
tum was considerably the largest of the three when grown 
in rich garden soil. 

"Acme gave the greatest average number of tomatoes 
per plant, while the average weight per fruit of Ignotum was 
considerably greater than that of the other varieties. 

"5. The Dwarf Champion proved to be an unprofitable 
variety in this test. 

"6. Tomatoes from the unfertilized plot (Plot 4) were 
small, smooth, and of good shape, but the color was not 
normal. They were too light in color and slightly rusly- 
looking, — having a faded appearance. The flesh of the 
tomato was very dry, and sweet to the taste — much sweeter 
than tomatoes from other plots. 

' ' Tomatoes of best form, size and color grew upon plots 
6 and 7. Those from plot 8 (and a few from plot 7) ripened 
very unevenly, and were green about the stem when the 
other side of the fruit was of good color and apparently 
ripe. These tomatoes had a decided tendency towards soft- 
ness while still green ; the form and size were very good. ' ' 

We come now to a comparison of plants grown in natural 
soil with those grown in artificial soil. " These were set 
much closer in the bench than those grown in artificial soil. 
The latter had a bench space of 2.31 square feet per plant, the 



58 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

former about 1.15 square feet. The plants in soil had three 
weeks the start of those in ashes and peat, being set in the 
beds on December 7th, while the plants were not set in the 
ashes and peat until December 31st. These facts render 
any very strict comparison of the two impossible, nor was 
strict comparison intended when the experiment was begun. 
The following facts, however, deserve notice. In what fol- 
lows we refer only to the crops grown on plots 7 and 8. 
The others, 4, 5, and 6, had no adequate supply of nitrogen, 
and it must also be borne in mind that plots 7 and 8 in all 
probabilty did not have a full supply of either nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid, or potash. 

"The tomatoes grown in ashes and peat grew and 
fruited much more rapidly than those in natural soil, and 
then suddenly stopped their growth and bearing, the leaves 
turned brown and the plants appeared to be dead. They 
were not dead, however, by any means, and after cutting 
back to near the roots and supplying more fertilizers, they 
made a new and vigorous growth and fruited again. The 
plants grown in natural soil, however, kept bearing a little 
fruit till the following July, when they were thrown out to 
make room for other experiments. 

"We believe the plants in peat and ashes fruited more 
quickly and abundantly, because they had at first a larger 
supply of soluble plant food than those in natural soil : — 
that when that was exhausted, they had no resource, and 
died back in consequence: — that if they had been suffi- 
ciently fertilized, they would have proved far more prolific 
and profitable than those in natural soil. To decide this 
will be one point in further experiments. 

"The following statement gives the average yield per 
plant of the three varieties (4 plants of each) on plot 8 in 
artificial soil with commercial fertilizers, also the average 
yield per plant (an equal number of each of the three varie- 
ties was used to calculate this) of the three varieties grown 
in rich natural soil up to April 17th, the date when, as al- 
ready described, the plants in artificial soil died back for 



FERTILIZERS AND TOMATOES. 59 

lack of nourishment. Up to this date the plants had been 
growing in the natural soil three weeks longer than in the 
artificial soil. The total yield of the plants in natural soil, 
up to July i6th, is also given, though after the middle of 
April there is little or no profit in forcing-house toma- 
toes." The tabular results are as follows : 

Peat and ashes 

with fertilizers. Natural soil. 

To April 17th To April 17th ToJulyi6th 

Yield per plant (grams) . . . 2087 976 1820 

Yield per plant (pounds) . . 4.59 2.15 4.00 

Number of fruits per plant . 21 10.4 22.7 

Weight of fruits (grams) . . 99.1 91.7 82.4 

Yield per square foot (grams) 904 847.0 15S3 

Yield per square foot (pounds) 1.99 1.S6 3.5 

"The table shows that up to the time when the fertilizers 
in the artificial soil were proved (by the chemical analyses) 
to be exhausted, the plants in artificial soil had produced, 
per square foot of bench space, 7 per cent more tomatoes 
than those in the natural soil, while the latter had, up to that 
time, three weeks more of growing season. It is possible 
that the plants in natural soil, if they had been set further 
apart, would have, in the same time, made a larger crop per 
foot of bench space. It is possible, too, that with an in- 
creased supply of fertilizers the plants in artificial soil would 
have given a largely increased yield. We cite these figures 
only to show that the tomato crop can be successfully grown 
in a soil made of ashes and peat, such as we have described, 
with the aid of commercial fertilizers." 

While these experiments were inaugurated "solely to 
determine how much nitrogen in the soil was necessary for 
the full development of the tomato plant," the experimen- 
ters nevertheless " feel justified in calling attention to certain 
apparent adv\antages in using the artificial soil." In this 
artificial soil there is less liability to fungous troubles and 
insects, and the cost is less than for natural soils. "For 
every 100 square feet of bench space, about 2,200 pounds of 
sifted coal ashes and 63 pounds of dried peat or leaf mold 



6o MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

is required to fill the bench 8 inches deep with soil. Ex- 
periments are now in progress to determine whether the 
use of peat is necessary. About lo pounds of commercial 
fertilizers are needed for this bench space, costing, at pres- 
ent ruling ton rates, less than 21 cents. The cost of these 
things is to be compared with the cost of providing a con- 
siderably greater weight of rich compost containing a large 
relative amount of stable manure. In very many cases, the 
cost of filling the benches with the artificial soil must be 
very much less than the cost of filling them with rich garden 
soil. 

"The greatest expense in running a forcing-house is the 
artificial heat required, and for this reason, quick growth 
and early maturity are extremely desirable. Regarding the 
relative availability of the potash and phosphates in compost 
and in commercial fertilizers, we know little, but it is very 
certain that the nitrogen of composts is slowly available as 
compared w ith the nitrogen of nitrates. Our tomato tests 
showed, too, very clearly, that plants in natural soil made 
nuich slower growth and were slower in fruiting than those 
in artificial soil supplied with nitrates. Though the former 
were set fully three weeks earlier, both began fruiting at the 
same time." 

The general summary of all the results of fertilizing the 
tomatoes is as follows : 

" I. A forcing-house tomato crop yielding about two 
pounds of fruit for each square foot of bench room, takes, 
in the vines and fruit, for every hundred square feet of 
bench space, not less than : 

Grams. Lbs Ozs. 

Nitrogen 168 Equivalent to Nitrate of soda 2 5 

Phosphoric acid . . 65 " " Dissolved bone black o 13 

Potash 362 " " Muriate of potash i 9 

"Of this from a fourth to a fifth only is in the vines. 

"2. To enable the plants to get these fertilizer elements 
as required, there should be a large excess of them in the 
soil, perhaps double the quantity given above. 



FERTILIZERS WITH LETTUCE. 



6i 



"3. Every 100 pounds of tomato fruit takes from the soil 
approximately : 

Ounces. Ounces. 
Nitrogen ...... 2.2 Equivalent to Nitrate of soda 14 

Phosphoric acid . . 0.9 " " Dissolved bone black 5 

Potash 4.6 " " Muriate of potash 10 

"4. It is possible to grow a crop of forcing-house toma- 
toes, amounting to two or more pounds per square foot of 
bench space, perfectly normal in size, color, taste and 
chemical composition, by the aid of commercial fertilizers 
alone, and in soil composed of coal ashes and peat." 

The Connecticut experiments with lettuce. — Experi- 
ments like those detailed for the tomatoes were also made 
upon lettuce. Four plots (numbered from 38 to 41) of 
Simpson White-seeded and Tennisball varieties, each con- 
taining about 11)4 square feet, received each 200 pounds 
of the peat .and ashes mixture (containing 5 per cent of 
peat). The bed was filled to a depth of 6 inches. Some 
of the details of the test are as follows : 

Plot 3S. Plot 39. Plot 40. Plot 41 . 

.11 grams 11. So grams 16.59 grams 21.34 grams 



Fertilizers applied. 
Nitrogen .... 
Equivalent ni- 
trate of soda 44.4 
Phosphoric acid 6.S0 
Equivalent dis- 
solved bone 
black .... 40.0 

Potash 24.24 

Equivalent mu- 
riate of potash 48.5 
Crops harvested. 
Lettuce Heads . 1232.S 
Lettuce Roots 
(with much ad- 
hering soil) . . 219.6 

Total 1452.4 

Dry substance of 
crop 205.5 



74.0 
6.80 



40.0 
24.24 



48.5 
2217.6 

361.3 
2578.9 

346.2 



6.S0 



40.0 

24.24 
4S.5 



133.4 
6.80 



40.0 

24.24 



2720.6 



36S4 



349-56 



48.; 



3083. r 



368. 



3451-6 



35S.S3 



"The facts which this experiment has developed may 
be summarized as follows : 



62 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

"i. Lettuce of good quality can be grown under glass 
in an artificial soil such as we have described, with the use 
of commercial fertilizers. We are not prepared to say at 
present that its quality is as good as the best lettuce 
grown in rich, natural soil. 

" 2. A crop of forcing-house lettuce, raised as above 
described, takes from the soil in roots and heads, per 
I, coo heads, not less than : 

Grams. Pounds. Ounces. 

Nitrogen. . . .282.6 Equivalent to 3 15 Nitrate of soda 

Phosphoric acid 87.7 "12 Dissolved bone black. 

Potash 621.0 " 2 10 Muriate ol potash. 

"3. To supply this plant food to the soil under the 
conditions of our experiment, it was necessary to add to 
the soil the following quantities of fertilizers per 1,000 
plants, or per 387 square feet, the area used in our ex- 
periment for 1,000 plants : 

Pounds. Ounces. Costing, cents. 

Nitrate of soda 9 13 25 

Dissolved bone black 2 15 4 

Muriate of potash 3 8 7 

On the use of fresh stable manure. — All experienced 
gardeners place the greatest faith in old well-rotted stable 
manure, and uniformly avoid fresh manure. A discus- 
sion of the behavior of fresh manure in its relation to 
nitrification is made in the Connecticut report which is 
quoted above, and it seems to throw much light upon 
the craft of gardeners. A somewhat full abstract of the 
article is here given. It is known that when nitrogen 
compounds, either in the form of nitrates or occurring in 
organic matter in manures, are fully exposed to the air, 
the nitrogen may be lost as gas by the action of certain 
denitrifying microbes. It now seems probable that simi- 
lar losses, though much less in amount, may be occasioned 
in the soil by the use of fresh stable manure. Wagner 
has found that the nitrogen of well-rotted stable manure 



THE USE OF FRESH MANURE. 63 

is much less readily available to plants than has been 
generally supposed. If the availability of the nitrogen of 
nitrates be taken as. loo, that of the nitrogen of well- 
rotted manure was only 45 per cent. Kiihn has found, 
on the other hand, that the nitrogen of fresh cattle dung 
is very readily available. If the availability of the nitro- 
gen of sulphate of ammonia be taken as 100, that of fresh 
manure was 92 per cent. Wagner further observed that 
fresh manure has a decided tendency to liberate the ni- 
trogen of nitrates or of green manures, so "that the in- 
crease of crops secured by the horse dung and nitrates, 
etc., together, may be less than is produced by the ni- 
trates, etc., alone." 

" It appears that soils, to which were added three grams 
of nitrogen ; viz., two grams in form of fresh horse dung 
and one gram in form of nitrate of soda, yielded a very 
considerably smaller crop than the same soil to which 
one gram of nitrate nitrogen was added without dung. 
This, according to Wagner, is explained by the fact that 
the microbes in the fresh dung expelled nitrogen in the 
gaseous form, both from the dung itself and from the 
nitrate, before vegetation could assimilate it. 

"While the horse dung applied in Wagner's trials was 
fresh and the quantities were much larger than are ordi- 
narily used in farm practice, yet the facts above cited 
have a very important bearing on the use of fresh stable 
manure and possibly on the value of composts, such as 
are used for forcing-house soil, in which the proportion 
of stable manure is approximately near to that which was 
used in Wagner's tests, where a large loss of nitrogen was 
observed. It might, therefore, happen that applications 
of nitrates or other nitrogenous fertilizers to the soil of 
the forcing-house would have no marked effect on the 
crop, while nevertheless available nitrogen was deficient 
and the crop suffering in consequence. This result might 
at least be expected to follow the use of fresh manure 
water. ' ' 



64 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

Tests made at the Connecticut Station itself confirmed 
these general results. The investigation was carried to 
mixtures of nitrates with garden loam and to potting soil, 
as well as to mixtures with fresh manure. The garden 
soil had very little effect in reducing the nitrates. 

In another experiment, fresh horse dung and potting 
soil were used. The potting soil "was made of pasture 
sod and the soil just beneath, composted with about one- 
third their bulk of mixed horse and cow manures. The 
mixture, made in the summer of 1894, had stood in a 
conical, compact pile, exposed till the fall of 1895. The 
soil for this experiment was taken from the interior of 
this pile at a depth of 2-3 feet." * * * "While the 
surface soil of the garden, although heavily dressed each 
year with stable manure, had little or no effect in destroy- 
ing nitrates, the potting earth (made by composting con- 
tiguous pasture sod and a few inches of underlying soil 
with stable manure), reduced nitrates to about half the 
extent caused by fresh horse dung. 

"This result is in accord with familiar facts. The 
surface soil of tilled ground is commonly or always 
charged with oxidizing and nitrifying organisms. Fresh 
and damp compost heaps where vegetable or animal 
matters are abundant and the soil of forests, low mead- 
ows and bogs, contain little or no nitrates, and their 
bacterial growths are of the deoxidizing or reducing 
kinds. It is probable that, near the surface of the heap 
of potting earth, nitrifying organisms were abundant at 
the very time when the sample taken from the interior 
was found to have a denitrifying effect. Accordingly, the 
use of potting earth from the exterior of a compost heap 
may occasion no loss of nitrate-nitrogen, while earth from 
the interior of the heap may reduce nitrates and cause 
serious waste of any nitrate that is applied as a fertilizer. 
It is therefore advisable, some time before using potting 
compost, to iplace it under cover away from rain, and to 
intermix it thoroughly and frequently, and to keep it in 
rather shallow heaps." 



WATERING FORCING-HOUSES. 65 

WATERING. 

Of all the operations which fall to the lot of the gar- 
dener, there is perhaps none which requires the exer- 
cise of so much judgment as the watering of plants grow- 
ing under glass. The frequency of the watering, the 
amounts to apply, and how to apply it, must all be de- 
termined by the immediate conditions. There can be no 
rules for the practice. The best single statement to 
make, perhaps, is to say that plants should be watered 
when they need it ; but this means little. Plants may 
need water and yet be ruined by the giving of it. 
Watering is performed primarily to supply the plant with 
food, yet there are certain secondary effects of the 
practice which should be thoroughly understood. 

It must first be said that the application of water radi- 
cally changes, for the time being, both the temperature 
and physical condition of the soil, and these features are 
the very ones which bear most intimate relations to 
plant growth. Watering modifies the temperature of the 
soil, both because the water itself absorbs heat and be- 
cause the evaporation of it is a cooling process. Plants 
which love a high temperature receive a serious check the 
moment the soil is drenched with cold water. The 
grower of winter melons, for example, must never hope 
for the best success if he soaks his benches with hydrant 
water. As a rule, water must be given at such times that 
it will change the temperature of the soil the least and 
will allow the quickest return to its normal warmth. In 
the middle of the day, the change produced by watering 
may be too violent. Water is then supplied indirectly by 
wetting down the walks ; and when the temperature of 
the air has been somewhat reduced the plants may be 
syringed and the soil may be watered, if it needs. It is 
generally better to water forced vegetables early in the 
day in order that the soil may become thoroughly warmed 
up again before night. Watering towards night is likely 



66 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

to carry the plants too cool through the night, for the body 
of warm earth is a powerful factor in regulating and con- 
serving the night temperature of the house. While it is 
generally not advisable to thoroughly water the soil from 
a hose in the middle of the day, it is, nevertheless, very 
essential that the most profuse waterings be given on 
sunny days. This is because, as already stated, the sun 
soon warms up the house, and also because the house and 
foliage soon dry off. Houses which have a continually 
damp air breed soft plants and fungous diseases. The 
plants should go into the night dry — never wet. It is 
always best to withhold water on dull days, unless the 
plants are actually suffering for it. Perhaps these remarks 
cannot be better summed up than by saying that glass 
houses should be watered on a rising temperature, not 
on a falling temperature. 

The next most important secondary effect of watering, 
as already indicated, is the modification of the physical 
texture of the soil. The application of water tends to run 
the soil particles together, thus solidifying or compacting 
the earth. In the instance of clay soils, this cementing 
action of the water may proceed so far that the surface of 
the bed may become actually hard and almost non-absor- 
bent of water. When soils arrive at this condition, they 
are incapable of producing good plants, no matter how 
much plant food they may contain. There is greater dan- 
ger of compacting the soil when watering from a hose 
than from a pot. A good forcing-house soil remains open 
and porous to the last. The water quickly settles away 
into it and leaves the surface friable and open. When 
the surface remains wet and sticky, good plants are grown 
only with much difficulty. The physical condition of the 
surface soil may also be greatly improved by fre- 
quent tillage, for stirring the soil (an inch or so deep) as 
often as it becomes hard is quite as necessary in the 
forcing-house as out of doors. 

The entire body of soil should be wetted when water 



WATERING FORCING-HOUSES. 67 

is applied, and the normal condition of the surface should 
be simply moistness, not wetness. Of the two extremes, 
an habitually dry surface soil is much better than an 
habitually wet one. The fungi of damping-ofF breed pro- 
fusely upon wet surfaces ; and these soils are the ones, too, 
upon which the green "moss" (which is really an alga) 
thrives. All this means that when water is used on the 
soil, it should be applied thoroughly, and that the un- 
der soil should remain moister than the surface soil. 
Frequent and slight waterings produce just the opposite 
conditions of distribution of moisture, and thereby invite 
fungous disorders at the same time that they withhold 
water from the roots of the plants. 

Benches usually require closer attention than beds do, 
especially (as in the case of tomatoes and melons) when 
they are subjected to strong bottom heat. The earth 
then dries out both on top and bottom. It is the com- 
monest thing to find the soil in such benches as dry as pow- 
der at the bottom whilst it is abundantly moist on top ; 
and the gardener is generally found to be wondering why 
his plants ripen up prematurely and bear no crops of con- 
sequence. The thorough watering which has been ad- 
vised above — applying the water until the moisture can be 
seen or felt along some of the cracks on the bottom of 
the bench — will remedy this common difficulty; but the 
operator must be warned that if he allows any water to 
drip through his bench he may be leaching away valuable 
plant food. Beds upon the ground dry out from only one 
surface, and they usually replenish their store of water from 
the earth by means of capillary action. It is, therefore, 
necessary to exercise care not to water such beds too 
heavily. With profuse watering, they soon become 
soggy, cold and "sour." In the fall and spring months, 
it is generally necessary to water forcing-house soils every 
day, but in winter the operation may not be necessary 
oftener than once or twice a week. There is particular 
danger of keeping the soil too wet and cold in the long, 

6 FORC. 



68 MANAGEMENT OF TKE FORCING-HOUSE. 

dull spells of midwinter. In such weather, plants tend 
to grow soft and succulent, a tendency which is aided 
by over-watering. If there is a sudden rise in tempera- 
ture and a spell of bright weather, such flabby plants are 
likely to flag, scorch, curl, or otherwise suffer. It is, there- 
fore, extremely important that the gardener should aim to 
keep his plants "hard" in these cloudy days. 

In cold weather, the chill should always be taken off 
the water before it is applied to soil in which "warm" 
plants — like cucumbers, melons, tomatoes and egg-plants — 
are growing ; and it should also be done with lettuce if 
the hose water is colder than 60°. There are devices (of 
which the so-called Kinney pump is a good example) for 
drawing hot water from a tank or pail into the hose in 
just the right proportion to temper the water ; or, if the 
establishment is not too large, a watering-pot may be 
used. In large establishments, where steam power is 
used, an arrangement can be perfected for ejecting steam 
into the water. Rain water is undoubtedly the best water 
for plants, but ordinary spring or reservoir water is not 
injurious, and is generally used. 

WATERING BY SUB-IRRIGATION. 

Recent experiments have shown that water may be 
economically and efficiently applied to forced plants by 
means of pipes laid in the bottom of the bench. The 
writer's attention was first called to this line of investi- 
gation in 1890, when certain studies were proposed to 
determine what relation the supply of soil water has 
to the transpiration of water from the foliage and to the 
consequent rate of growth of the plant. Experiments 
were begun at Cornell in 1891, but facilities were not at 
hand to continue them. In this same year, Mr. W. J. 
Green published preliminary results of somewhat similar 
and more important experiments at the Ohio Experiment 
Station, and his investigations were begun in 1890, in 



MAKING BEDS FOR SUB-IRRIGATION. 69 

advance of those of any other Station. He has contin- 
ued these studies until the present time, and he and 
his colleagues have published various reports of them. 
Professor F. W. Rane has also made similar investiga- 
tions at the West Virginia Experiment Station, the results 
of which are published in Bulletin 33 of that Station.* 
The entire subject is so important in its relation to the 
forcing-house industries that I shall make copious extracts 
from j\Ir. Green's last bulletin (No. 61, September, 1S95) 
upon the subject. 

Construction of beds and benches for sub-irrigation. — 
"A water-tight bed, or bench bottom, is necessary in sub- 
irrigation, and there are sev^eral methods by which this 
may be secured. Our first attempt was made with 
matched lumber or flooring, the joints being filled with 
white lead. The objection to this method of construction 
is partly on account of the cost, but more particularly 
because of the fact that when the boards swell the bot- 
tom bulges upward, displacing the irrigating tile and caus- 
ing leakage. It has been found that common barn boards, 
or any rough lumber, answers better, if the cracks are bat- 
tened with lath, and a layer of cement is spread over the 
entire bottom, deep enough to almost cover the lath. 
About one-third of good cement and two-thirds sand, 
made quite thin with water, spread on to the depth of 
about half an inch, and not allowed to dry too quickly, 
answers the purpose very well. The bottom boards will 
last longer than when the soil is placed directly upon 
them, but the supports underneath need to be somewhat 
nearer together than in the ordinary method of con- 
struction, so as to prevent springing of the boards, which 
cracks the cement. The greatest difficulty is found in 
making the sides of the benches water-tight, as no matter 
how well the side boards are nailed to the bottom boards, 



*Rane has also published an account of sub-irrigation in the open 
in Bulletin 34 of the New Hampshire Experiment Station. 



70 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

they will spring away and cause leakage. To obviate this 
the cement needs to be put on more thickly at the sides, 
bringing it up against the side boards two or three inches 
high, and from one to two inches thick. In fact the 
office of the cement is to hold the water, while the side 
boards protect the cement and retain the soil. 

" In case it is desired to make a bed on the ground, 
the bottom may be constructed in the same manner as 
an ordinary cellar bottom, except that the cement need 
not be as thick. Sometimes the bottom may be made 
directly on the clay sub-soil, or clay may be brought in 
for the purpose and no cement used. There may be some 
leakage in a clay bottom, but not sufficient to do any 
harm. In all cases there must be a level bottom, or at 
least the slope must be slight, and all in one direction. 
Inequalities in the bottom will prevent the proper working 
of the irrigating tile and result in unequal distribution of 
the water, hence a perfect grade is essential. In case 
benches are constructed, the best plan is to use indestruc- 
tible material altogether. 

" The irrigating tiles [common drain tile] may be laid 
lengthwise or crosswise the beds, but about fifty feet is 
the greatest length of tile that will work satisfactorily on 
a level, and if the runs are to be longer than this, there 
should be one or two inches fall to each fifty feet. It will 
be necessary, however, in case there is a fall, to check 
the water at intervals in order to prevent a too rapid 
flow towards the lower end. This may be easily done 
by inserting strips of tin into the joints as often as need 
be, so as to partially intercept the flow, and to cause the 
water to run out at the joints wherever needed. When 
properly laid, rows of tile several hundred feet in length 
could be made to work satisfactorily, but we have had 
the best success with short runs of tile, laid crosswise the 
benches. Instead of using elbows of sewer pipe, a 
cheaper plan is to employ common tile altogether. In 
this case, the end of the outer tile is raised so as to 



DETAILS OF SUB-IRRIGATING. 7I 

come above the top of the bench, in order to admit of 
inserting the hose in watering. When the tiles are laid, 
crosswise the benches, several may be watered at once by 
means of a piece of gas pipe with holes bored at suit- 
able distances. When the tiles are laid, they are simply 
placed end to end, and no cement is needed, although it 
is sometimes used to prevent the tiles becoming dis- 
placed in filling the benches with soil. 

" Gas pipe, with holes bored at intervals, has been 
used with success ; also a pipe, called 'structural iron 
pipe.' This differs from ordinary iron pipe in having a 
slot along one side. Where the slot is nearly closed, so 
as to not allow the water to flow too freely, this pipe 
answers very well, but 2^-inch drain tiles are cheaper 
than anything else, and are perfectly satisfactory. These 
tiles are, of course, removed and put in place again each 
time the soil in the benches is renewed. Another thing 
in favor of 1)4, or 3-inch tiles, is that the capacity is suffi- 
cient, so that it may be filled quickly and the operator 
may go on to another tile, allowing the water to soak 
out into the soil, knowing that enough has been given to 
last several days ; but if iron pipes are used, the size 
must be small because of the cost, and the watering must 
be more frequent in consequence." 

Rane speaks as follows (Bull. 33, W. Virginia Station) 
of the equipment of the sub-irrigation bench : "The ques- 
tion of economy, when considering the advisability of using 
sub-irrigated beds, is justly a worthy and important one. 
There must be a water-tight bed to retain all the water in 
the soil, the construction of which is necessarily more 
expensive than in the ordinary method of making beds, 
provided boards are used. The pipe or tiles are likewise 
an extra expense. Now, will this expenditure be realized 
from the advantages gained? The cost of raw material, 
for example, in two houses, each 50 ft. long and 20 ft. 
wide, one being arranged for surface and the other for 
under-surface watering, would be about as follows : 



72 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

SURFACE. UNDER-SURFACE. 

Center bed 40x8 ft. @ $12 Center bed 40x8 ft. @ J25 

per M . . $3 84 per M $8 00 

2 Side benches 50x4 ft. @ 2 Side benches 50x4 ft. @ 

$12 per M 4 80 I25 per M 10 00 

182 ft. Sideboards @ |2o . . 3 64 182 ft. Sideboards @ $20 . . 3 64 

150 ft. Quarter round @ i ct. i 50 
320 ft. Tile @ |i8 per M . . 5 76 
White lead i 10 

Total $12 28 Total $30 00 

"The difference between the first cost of the beds 
in the two houses is, therefore, I17.72. Dividing this 
amount by two, since the beds will certainly last two 
years, we have |8.86 as the actual yearly expense of the 
one house over the other. The fact of this small expendi- 
ture in comparison with the great advantages derived 
from it, establishes its economic importance and thorough 
practicability. 

' ' Lead or iron pipe may be used in place of the tiles, 
but are not as practicable when a quantity is to be used. 
They are more expensive, and better adapted to smaller 
areas. Lead pipe cq^ts 6 cents per pound, the number of 
pounds to the foot varying according to the quality. It 
gives very satisfactory results, and can be used indefi- 
nitely. The cost of iron pipe varies according to the 
size. Although it is less expensive than -the lead, it rusts 
easily, and can not be relied upon after one or two sea- 
sons' use. That used the past season, after having been 
cleaned, is in fair condition for use this year." 

Experiments with lettuce and other plants. — After 
various preliminary tests at the Ohio Station, "three 
houses, each 20 x 100 ft. , have been devoted almost wholly 
to lettuce, nearly all of which has been sub-irrigated. A 
middle section in each house has been reserved for sur- 
face watering, and the end benches are divided, half 
being watered by one method and half by the other. 
Incidentally, this arrangement may be referred to as af- 
fording an opportunity to note the behavior of plants in 



SUB-IRRIGATION FOR LETTUCE. 



73 



houses where the moisture in the air, in addition to the 
normal quantity, comes almost wholly from plant tran- 
spiration. 

"In the following table, the results with a number of 
varieties are given. This was not intended as a variety 
experiment, as those in the list are not comparable in the 
manner presented, since some are varieties which form 
heads while others do not. All that it is intended to 
show is the relative development of each variety by the 
two methods of watering. In this experiment each lot is 
carried through the entire season of growth by the method 
indicated. That is, the sub-irrigated plants were treated 
in that manner from the time the seed was sown until 
the crop was harvested. The surface-watered plants, on 
the other hand, were surface-watered during their entire 
season of growth. This is referred to particularly be- 
cause it is not the plan which has been followed in the 
greater number of our experiments. It will be seen that 
the average gain in favor of the sub-irrigated plots was 
about IOC per cent.— 



THE RESULTS OF SURFACE- AND SUB-IRRIGATION WITH 
TEN VARIETIES OF LETTUCE. 





Surface- watered. 


Sub-irrigated. 


Variety. 


Number of 
plants. 


Weight, 
ounces. 


Number of 
plants. 


Weight, 
ounces. 


Chicago Forcing . . . 
Denver Market . . . 
Tilton's White Star . 
Henderson's N. Y. . . 

Hanson 

Grand Rapids .... 

Iceberg 

Big Boston 

Large Boston .... 
Rawson's Hot- House . 


5 
5 
5 

10 
10 

25 
15 
15 
10 

15 


II 
8 
II 
22 
18 
80 
32 
21 

H 
23 


5 
5 
5 
10 
10 
25 
15 
15 
10 

15 


22 
12 
32 
40 
48 
208 
47 
51 
31 
41 



In the next table, the separate results of i 



5 ex- 



74 



MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 



periments are given. * * * No effort has been made 
to select examples, further than to secure a fair average, 
rather than to present the highest or the lowest. The 
average gain of the sub-irrigated over the surface-watered 
in the above cases was a little more than 40 per cent. 
This increase in weight was made in a little more than 
six weeks, or from the time the plants were set in the 
benches to the end of the experiments. That is, all of 
the plants were sub-irrigated while growing in the flats, 
or during about half of their period of growth, and not un- 
til they were planted in the benches was surface-watering 
commenced. This is a less favorable showing for sub- 
irrigation than is made in the last table, by the plan 
above described, of carrying the plants through the entire 
period of growth by the respective methods of watering. — 

RESULTS IN FIFTEEN SUB-IRRIGATION EXPERIMENTS 
WITH GRAND RAPIDS LETTUCE. 





Surface-watered. 


Sub-irrigated. 


Experiment. 


Number of 
plants. 


Weight, 
ounces. 


Number of 
plants. 


Weight, 
ounces. 


I 

II 

Ill 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

IX 

X 

XI 

XII 

XIII 

XIV 

XV 


140 
100 

75 
100 

55 
100 

25 

25 

35 

150 

107 

144 

32 

96 

160 


474 
374 
287 
299 
297 
545 
132 
121 
212 
477 
554 
262 
107 
280 
156 


140 
100 

75 
100 

55 
100 

25 

25 

35 

150 

107 

144 

32 

96 

160 


637 

512 

383 
453 
340 
602 
176 
130 
242 
572 
644 
337 
147 
380 
452 



"In the above examples, the surface- and sub-irrigated 
plots were side by side, but a more satisfactory plan is to 



SUB-IRRIGATION FOR LETTUCE. 



75 



alternate the plots. This, however, cannot be extended 
very far, as the difference in heat in the two ends of a house 
is considerable. A very good plan is to take a section of a 
bed in the middle of a house and treat by one method of 
watering, while two sections of the same size on either side 
are treated according to the other method. This has been 
done in several cases, and some examples are given in the 
third table. In these experiments, the plants were treated 
in the same manner as those in the experiments above men- 
tioned, /. e., all were sub-irrigated until they were planted 
in the benches. After that time sections A and C were sub- 
irrigated, and section B was surface-watered. The average 
gain of the sub-irrigated plots over the surface-watered was 
about 38 per cent, or very nearly the same as the average 
of the 15 experiments in the second table. — 



COMPARISON OF SURFACE-WATERED SECTIONS WITH SUB- 
IRRIGATED SECTIONS ON EITHER SIDE, 75 GRAND 
RAPIDS PLANTS IN EACH SECTION. 



Experiment I 
Experiment II 
Experiment III 



Section A, sub- 
irrigated. 



Weight, 385 ozs. 

" 487 " 
308 " 



Section B, sur- 
face-watered. 



Weight, 325 ozs. 

329 " 
" 229 " 



Section C, sub- 
irrigated. 



Weight, 420 ozs. 

496 " 
345 " 



" In all of the experiments thus far referred to, but 
one point has been considered, and that is the increase in 
weight by sub-irrigation. Aside from the relative preva- 
lency of disease in plants treated by the two methods, there 
are but few practical questions. 

"Although not a matter of much practical importance, 
some interest attaches to the fact that sub-irrigated lettuce 
is earlier than that grown in the ordinary manner. It does 
not really come to maturity any earlier if by that is meant 
the stage at which the plants cease to increase in weight, 



76 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

caused by the dying of the lower leaves, but it does reach a 
marketable size sooner. It is customary to allow the plants 
to stand as long as they continue to improve, but in case it 
is desirable to cut before that time it will be found that the 
sub-irrigated lettuce will be a week to ten days ahead of the 
other. Should the size to which surface-watered lettuce can 
be grown be set as a standard, and the sub-irrigated cut 
when it reaches that size, it will be found that the latter will 
be ready four to six weeks from the time of planting in the 
beds, and the surface-watered must be allowed to remain 
from six to eight weeks to attain the same size. Whether 
we reckon in this manner, or by the actual weight of the 
crops harvested during the season, there is a gain in one 
season of about one crop by sub-irrigation. Both the yield 
and price vary, of course ; but for a house 20 x 100 feet the 
difference in a single season between surface- and sub- irriga- 
tion might safely be estimated at from ^50 to $100. The 
latter figure might not be reached, except on very heavy 
clay soil, and on soil specially adapted to lettuce the dif- 
ference might be even less than the lowest, but experience 
has shown that it is more likely to exceed than to fall below 
$So. The difference is likely to be greater with new begin- 
ners than with those of experience, as more skill is required 
to manage a crop by surface- than by sub-irrigation. It is an 
established fact that good head lettuce cannot be grown on 
heavy soil by surface watering, and the same is, in a meas- 
ure, true of all varieties. It is evident, therefore, that sub- 
irrigation greatly enlarges the possibilities of lettuce culture 
under glass. It not only makes the work easier for new 
beginners, but it makes it possible to use soil that would 
otherwise be precluded. More than that, it solves the prob- 
lem of meeting competition from the south, which competi- 
tion bids fair to ruin the business of vegetable forcing at the 
north, unless improved methods are adopted by northern 
gardeners." 

Very similar results with lettuce have been secured by 
Rane, who also found much less trouble with rot in sub- 



RESULTS OF SUB-IRRIGATION. 77 

irrigated beds. " The lettuce rot, which appeared to a 
marked extent in the surface-watered beds," he writes, 
"was apparently absent in the sub-irrigated beds. The 
disease was first noticed at time of marketing, at which time 
it could not be detected in the other beds. During the 
growth of the second crop it became very troublesome, and 
some of the varieties in the surface-watered beds required 
marketing before they were fully grown, while in the under- 
surface-watered beds the disease was completely held in 
check." 

Rane also found " marked superiority " in sub-irrigation 
for tomatoes, "no marked difference" in turnip-rooted 
radishes, "very beneficial" effects in long-rooted radishes, 
"a slight difference" in earliness in spinach, "no marked 
difference" in turnip-rooted beets, and "very marked" 
gain in maturity of parsley from seed but " no perceptible 
difference in its growth" after the plants in the surface- 
irrigated soil "once reached maturity." 

Conclusions. — Green makes the following points of ad- 
vantage of sub-irrigation in glass houses : 

"Watering by sub-irrigation in the greenhouse is more 
cheaply done than by the ordinary method. 

"Watering by sub-irrigation in the greenhouse is more 
efficiently done than by the ordinary method. 

"Where sub-irrigation is practiced in the greenhouse, 
the soil does not become compacted as by surface water- 
ings, but retains its original loose, friable condition, even 
without frequent stirring, nor does it become mossy, water- 
logged and sour. 

' ' Plants are less liable to suffer from over watering 
and diseases by sub-irrigation than where the water is 
applied to the surface. 

"All classes of plants which may be grown upon 
greenhouse benches thrive better by sub-irrigation than 
by the ordinary method of watering." 

Rane writes as follows: "The saving of labor through 
sub-irrigation is almost inestimable. The expenditure of 



yS MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

time ill watering was as follows : In the case of under- 
surface irrigation, the water was dipped out of a tank and 
poured into a fjanel, through which it entered the various 
portions of the bed. On the other hand, in surface irriga- 
tion, the water was dipped out and applied by a sprinkling 
can, containing either a rose spray or a spout long enough 
to reach all sections of the bed. In the former case, the size 
of the plants did not matter, while in the latter, the more 
mature the crop, the more time it required for watering. 
Again, the sub-irrigated beds did not require watering over 
once or, at the outside, twice a week ; while, generally 
speaking, the other beds were watered daily. 

" The idea that a water-tight bed is detrimental to plant 
growth on account of lack of drainage is overcome, we be- 
lieve, in the fact that the pipe or tiles receive the excess of 
water, which, in a bed not water-tight, would leak out at the 
bottom, thus making it serve a double purpose. If the soil 
contains too much moisture, it serves as a reservoir ; if not 
enough, it imparts the amount necessary for good condi- 
tions. In either case, the pipe or tiles act as a safety-valve. 
These openings underneath the soil allow free access of air, 
render plant food digestible, and act as a drain to water- 
soaked soil. In view of these results, we feel safe in saying 
that under-surface watering is a pronounced success." 

VENTILATING AND SHADING. 

The one imperative thing to be borne in mind in ventila- 
ting glass houses is to avoid draughts. This means that 
ventilators should be many and small rather than few and 
large, for thereby the warm air can be discharged from 
houses without much danger of an in-rush of cold air, 
because the ventilator sash need be lifted only very little. 
Houses should be cooled by letting out heated air rather 
than by letting in cold air, although it is impossible to 
wholly exclude the outside air when ventilators are opened. 
In forcing-houses of ordinary size, sufficient ventilation can 



VENTILATING FORCING-HOUSES. 79 

be secured by means of sash at the peak alone, thus obvi- 
ating the danger of currents of cold air which arises when 
there are ventilating sashes in both the sides and top. In 
very large houses, particularly in those of the shed roof 
pattern, it may be necessary to place ventilating openings 
in the walls, more especially on the back or high side of the 
house. Ventilating openings should be removed as far as 
possible from the plants in order to reduce the danger of 
cold draughts to the utmost. 

Particular care should be taken with the ventilating dur- 
ing dull, cold weather, when the plants become soft and are 
very quickly injured by draughts. It is not necessary to 
ventilate primarily for the purpose of securing fresh air, but 
to regulate the temperature of the house. When the house 
becomes over wet and close, it is often necessary to ventilate 
for the purpose of drying it out. The larger the house, the 
less, as a rule, is the necessity of ventilating. 

Houses are shaded to prevent the sun from scorching the 
plants. The shading is supplied by coating the glass with 
some white covering, like whitewash. The necessity for 
shading may be largely obviated by not allowing the plants 
to become over-vigorous, sappy, and soft. The greatest 
danger from sun-scald occurs after a spell of dark and wet 
weather. It is then essential to keep the house rather cool 
when the weather brightens, and it may be necessary to 
shade it. Plants which are suffering from root-galls or other 
disease of the roots, or those which are growing in very 
leachy soils or on very shallow benches, may have to be 
shaded in order to check the evaporation from their tops 
and thereby prevent them from wilting. Many plants thrive 
best under shaded roofs, but amongst the forced vegetables 
there is only the English or frame cucumber which appears 
to thrive best under a tempered light. This plant was 
developed in the humid and soft climate of England, and it 
seeems to be impatient of our violent suns ; yet it may be 
made to withstand the sun if grown rather slowly. 

For plants which require permanent shading, a paint 



8o MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

made of naphtha and white lead may be put upon the 
glass. This is removed with difficulty. For forcing-houses, 
which only infrequently need shading, an ordinarily slaked- 
lime-and-water whitewash, which can be both applied and 
washed off by means of a spray pump, is the best covering. 
A still less durable wash is made of flour and water. 

THE ELECTRIC LIGHT FOR FORCING-HOUSES. 

Can the electric light stand for sunlight? Can it be 
profitably used at night and in dull weather to hasten the 
growth of plants ? These questions have received greater 
attention in the United States than elsewhere in the 
world. Experiments have been made at the Cornell 
Experiment Station,*' the West Virginia Station,! and 
by W. W. Rawson, an extensive vegetable forcer at Bos- 
ton. It is found that the electric light, both the arc and 
the incandescent, can be advantageously used upon let- 
tuce to piece out the sunlight in midwinter. In various 
florists' plants it also produces earlier bloom. It is usu- 
ally injurious, or has only negative results, upon radishes, 
peas, carrots, beets, spinach and cauliflowers. 

Upon lettuce, the value of the electric light in hasten- 
ing maturity is emphatic. Mr. Rawson saves about a 
week upon each of his three winter crops by the use of 
three ordinary street lamps hung over a house 370 ft. 
long and 2)3 ft. wide. 

At Cornell, the results upon lettuce have been marked 
in many tests, and the gains in maturity have been as 
much as two weeks. It is found in every instance that the 
naked arc light — that is, a light without a globe— hung 



*Bailey, Bulletins 30 (Aug. 1891), 42 (Sept. 1892), 55 (July 1893); also, 
"Electricity and Plant-Growing," in Trans. Mass. Hort. Soc'y, 1894. 
Experiments with electric currents upon plants, by Clarence D. Walker, 
will be found in Bulletins 16 (1892) and 23 (1893) of the Mass. Hatch 
Exp. Sta. 

fRane, "Electro-Horticulture with the Incandescent Lamp," Bulle- 
tin 37 (July, 1894). 



POLLINATING THE FLOWERS. 8l 

inside the house, injures the plants which are within a 
few feet of it, and tends to make all plants within reach 
of its rays run too quickly to seed. The use of a clear 
glass globe, however, overcomes all injury. The best 
results are to be obtained by placing the light — either 
naked or surrounded by a clear globe — a few feet above 
the roof. An ordinary 2,000-candle-power arc light — such 
as is commonly used for street lighting — will exert a 
marked effect upon lettuce for a radius of 75 to 100 feet, 
if the roof is clean and the framework of the house is 
light. The light may be allowed to burn all night. In- 
candescent lamps have the same influence as arc lights, 
but to a less degree. It will be found profitable to use 
the electric light for plant-growing, if at all, only in the 
three or four months of midwinter. 



POLLINATION. 

It is generally necessary to transfer the pollen by hand 
in fruit-bearing forced vegetables. The methods are fully 
explained under the discussions of the various vegetables. 
In order to secure the pollen, the house should be dry 
and warm. Upon a bright morning, when the flowers need 
pollinating, the gardener should withhold water and let 
the foliage and walks become thoroughly dried off, and 
before midday the pollen will usually discharge readily. 

Bees may sometimes be utilized as pollen-carriers in 
spring and fall, when they can forage in and out of the 
house as they choose, but they are impracticable in the 
winter time in houses of ordinary size. In very large 
houses, in which there is abundant room for the bees to 
work, and where ventilators do not need to be opened so 
much, bees may sometimes be used to advantage. Three 
or four swarms should pollinate a house 40x400 ft. The 
bees will have to be fed. In general, however, bees are 
found to be unsatisfactory. The following account of an 



82 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE, 

experiment in this direction at Cornell (Lodeman, Bulle- 
tin 96) will indicate some - of the perverseness of these 
insects : 

"Much has been written regarding the value of bees 
in greenhouses. It is said that all hand-pollinations may 
be dispensed with if desired, as the bees will work among 
the blossoms, and thus cause the fruit to set. 

"During November, 1893, a hive of bees was received, 
and on the 23rd day of the month they were set free in 
the brightest of all the station houses. The hive was 
placed at the south end of the house, and the bees were 
kept constantly supplied with proper food. At this time 
the house was filled with tomato plants in full bloom, and 
it was hoped the bees would work among them so that 
the tedious but very necessary hand-pollination of the 
flowers need no longer be practiced. The bees evidently 
did not catch the idea, however, for if there was one 
place in the house which they did not visit it was the 
tomato blossom. They spent most of their time in bump- 
ing their heads against the glass sides and roof of the 
house, and at every opportunity, when the ventilators 
were raised a little, they took pains to pass through 
them, even though the mercury stood far below the 
freezing point out of doors. The bees which did not 
succeed in finding the ventilators continued to fly against 
the glass, leaving it only for the purpose of withdrawing 
far enough to get a start for a fresh attack. In this way 
the busy bee finally wore herself out, and, in the course 
of three weeks, those less ambitious individuals which did 
not fly heavenward in the friendless atmosphere of De- 
cember, were scattered as corpses along the sides of the 
house close to the glass ; and thus ended the attempt to 
make these little creatures useful in midwinter. It may 
be said that bees do not like tomato flowers, but our 
specimens took no pains to find out whether they liked 
them or not. It is probable that every bee in the swarm 
went to his honeyless bourne without ever having dis- 



PESTS AND DISEASES. 83 

covered whether the plants were tomatoes or buckwheat, 
or, in fact, if there were any plants at all in the house." 

INSECTS AND DISEASES. 

Insects and fungi are amongst the best of all educa- 
tors. They force the gardener to learn, whether he will 
or not. They are always the curse of poor gardeners. It 
occasionally happens that the very best gardeners are 
overtaken by some dire pest, but it is the exception, 
not the rule. The gardener boasts that the glass house 
affords him the means of keeping plants directly under 
control. By the same means, he should also keep the 
pests under control. There is a constant struggle for 
mastery between the plant, the bug, the fungus, and the 
man, and it often happens that the combatant which is 
the biggest, oldest and knows the most turns out to be 
the slave of all the others. 

The one universal and invariable precaution against in- 
sect and fungous attack is this : Keep the plants in a con- 
stant and uniform state of normal and healthy develop- 
ment. Avoid all extremes of temperature and moisture, 
and be particularly careful in this regard in the dark 
weather of winter. One is growing cucumbers, for ex- 
ample. He is in a hurry for the crop. The season is 
advancing. A dull spell comes on. He keeps his house 
close and waters freely. The plants respond quickly. 
The stems lengthen and thicken and the leaves expand 
to enormous size. Presently the sun appears. He must 
have air. He swings open the ventilators. The cold air 
rushes in and stirs the foliage. Two or three days later, 
he may look for a well-established case of mildew ! 

If he is growing lettuce in the same fashion, his plants 
appear to suddenly begin to collapse. The lower leaves 
rot, and presently the crop is worthless. In less than a 
week, one January, the writer lost an entire house of 
most beautiful lettuce by just such management. If he is 

7 FORC. 



84 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

growing tomatoes, the plants become sappy and con- 
gested under such treatment, and may actually contract 
the dropsy, as is shown in the chapter upon tomato forc- 
ing. In a spell of dull weather in winter, the gardener 
must be particularly careful to keep his houses dry and 
sweet, for then the mildews develop rapidly. 

The houses should be kept sweet and clean. All trim- 
mings from the plants should be carried out of the estab- 
lishment. The soil should be changed every year, particu- 
larly on benches (as explained on page 51). If there 
have been serious infections of fungi or insects, the 
framework of the house should be painted during sum- 
mer, or else sprayed or washed with kerosene. Care 
should be taken to avoid filling the benches with in- 
fested soil. It is always safest not to select soil from 
fields which have recently grown the same kind of crops 
which it is desired to grow in the house ; and if the 
forced plants have been badly infected, the soil in which 
they are grown should not be used again for forcing pur- 
poses. 

All possible precautions having been taken, the gar- 
dener may next exercise himself to devise means of kill- 
ing the pests. For aphis and the like, he will fumigate 
with some tobacco preparation ; for mealy-bugs he will 
use a fine hard stream of water from a hose, a proceed- 
ing which will greatly upset their domestic affairs ; for red 
spiders and mites he will syringe the foliage thoroughly 
with water above and below on all bright days ; for mil- 
dews he will evaporate sulphur or dust it on the plants ; 
for rusts he will spray with Bordeaux mixture ; for damp- 
ing-off (and "canker" at the root) he will dry off the 
surface of the soil and mix a little sulphur or charcoal 
into it ;«- for the nematode or root-gall (the work of which 



*See Atkinson's monograph of damping-off, Bulletin 94, Cornell Exp, 
Sta. (now out of print), for an account of the various fungi concerned 
in the trouble. The advice which Atkinson gives for the treatment of 



THE DAMPING-OFF FUNGI. 85 

is shown in Fig. 29, page 87), which is one of the most 
serious of all greenhouse pests, he will remove the soil, 
paint the benches with lye or kerosene, and thereafter use 
only soil which has been very thoroughly frozen since a 
crop was grown in it (a proceeding which is practically 
impossible in solid beds). 



dampiiig-off is here reprinted because the disorder is a very common 
and serious one, although it is not particularly germane to the subject 
of the forcing of vegetables : 

" In the treatment of this trouble, especial attention must be given 
to the en\ironment of the plants and those conditions which fa\ or the 
rapid development of the parasites. These conditions are known in 
most cases to be high temperature accompanied by a large moisture 
content of the soil, humid atmospliere, insufficient light, and close 
apartments, and soil which has become thoroughly infested with the 
fungi by the development of the disease in plants growing in the same. 
Some excellent notes on the treatment of the disease by gardeners and 
horticulturists are given in the American Garden for 1S90, by Meehan, 
Massey, Maynard, Watson, Lonsdale, Gardiner, and Bailey, and a 
short description of the potting-bed fungus {A>'fofru/r'(S Drbaryaiius) 
by Seymour. The principal lines of treatment suggested there frf)m the 
l)ractical experience of the writers are as follows : 

"When cuttings are badly diseased, they should betaken out, the 
soil removed, benches cleaned and fresh sand introduced, when only 
the sound cuttings should be. reset. For cuttings is recommended a 
fairly cool house, and confined air should be avoided in all cases. As 
much sunlight as possible should be given as the plants will stand 
without wilting. When close atmosphere is necessary, guard against too 
much moisture, and keep an even temperature. The soil should be 
kept as free as possible from decaying vegetable matter. This is a 
very important matter, for several of the most troublesome of the para- 
sites grow readily on such decaying vegetable matter, and in many 
cases obtain such vigorous growth that they can readily attack a per- 
fectly healthy plant which could resist the fungus if the vegetable 
matter had not been there to give it such a start. Soil which is dry 
beneath and wet on toi), as results from insufficient watering by a 
sprinkler, favors the disease more than uniformity of moisture through- 
out the soil. 

"In seed beds, use fresh sandy soil free from decaying matter. 
Avoid over-watering, especially in dull weather, shade in the middle 
part of the day only, and keep temperature as low as the plants will 
stand. 

" If the seedlings are badly diseased it will be wise to discard 
them and start the bed anew. In the early stages, however, they can 
frequently be saved by loosening the soil to dry it, and placing the 
pots in sunny places at such times as they will not wilt. Some 
advocate sprinkling sulphur on the soil, and in some cases sulphur 
at the rate of i to 30 is mixed in the soil before sowing, with 
good effect! When the beds are badly infested, Humphrey (Rept. 
Mass. State Agr. Exp. Sta. 1890) advocates the entire removal of the 
:;oil, whitewashing the beds, and the introduction of fresh soil. 

" In houses heated by steam if it were possible to have, without 
too great expense, a steam chest, where the pots and seed pans 
which are used could be placed and the soil thoroughly steamed for 



86 MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

Methods of controlling greenhouse pests by fumiga- 
tion.* — The insects and the fungi which seriously injure 
greenhouse plants are comparatively few in number, but if 
allowed to develop unchecked they are capable of entirely 
ruining every susceptible plant in the houses. There are 
some plants which are almost entirely free from such 
attacks, but they form isolated exceptions to a very gen- 
eral rule. All who have had any experience in growing 
plants under glass know that diseases are sure to appear, 
and that insects will originate apparently from nothing. 
Indeed, so certain are these pests to appear that every 
thorough gardener is at all times prepared for them, or 
even takes steps towards their destruction before they 
have been seen. Fortunately, he has at his command 
abundant means of protecting his plants, and houses in 
which insects or fungi are found in large numbers are 
silent but convincing witnesses of bad management and 
neglect. When a greenhouse has once become thor- 
oughly infested, it is almost impossible to rid the plants 
of their parasites, and it requires constant and prolonged 
attention to bring about this result ; and even when this 
has been done, the plants will in many cases have be- 
come so weakened that they will scarcely repay the time 
and labor employed in saving them. The care of plants 
should begin before they are attacked, and this care 
should be given uninterruptedly. By treating apparently 
uninfested plants many invisible enemies may be de- 



several hours, it could be sterilized, and the finer and more delicate 
seedlings be grown then with little danger if subsequent care was 
used to not introduce soil from the beds. In testing the virulence 
of the Artotrogns Debaryanus, and of the sterile fungus, several 
experiments have been made by steaming pots of earth, growing 
seedlings in them and then inoculating some of the seedlings with 
the fungus while other pots were kept as checks, and all were under 
like conditions with respect to moisture, temperature, etc» The seed- 
lings which were not supplied with the fungus remained healthy, 
while those supplied with the fungus were diseased and many were 
killed outright." 

*Lodeman, Bulletin 96, Cornell Exp. Sta. 



TOBACCO FOR PLANT-LICE. 87 

stroyed, and such treatments are by far the most valu- 
able ones. 

Tobacco. — Several of the most common and often very 
serious organisms may be overcome by vapors with 
which a house may be filled, and the best known and 
the most valuable remedy of this nature is undoubtedly 




2g. Galls of a tiematode worm on the roots of two tomato plants. 
The root on the left is unusually severely affected. 

tobacco. The poisonous alkaloids found in the tobacco 
plant are fatal to many insects. The waste parts of the 
plants, particularly the "stems," are utilized by florists 
and others for purposes of fumigation. 

These stems, which are almost invariably the dried 
mid-veins of the leaves, may be obtained for almost noth- 



MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 



ing at any cigar factory. When wanted for fumigating 
purposes they should not be too dry, else they will blaze, 
instead of slowly smouldering and forming a dense 
smoke. In case the stems are too dry, they may be 
moistened by sprinkling water upon them ; a better way, 
however, is to store the stems in a moderately damp 
place, and then they are always in good condition for 
burning. If they blaze while the house is being fumi- 
gated, much of their value is lost, and it is also said that 
plants are positively injured in such cases, although our 
experience Iras not supported this view. 

Tobacco stems may be burned in a variety of ways. 
Some gardeners merely pile the required quantity upon 
a brick or stone floor in the house and set fire to it by 
means of paper or shavings. An old coal scuttle answers 
the purpose very well. Fig. 30 represents a home-made 
tobacco-stem burner which we have designed, and which 
is perhaps as simple, serviceable, and easily managed as 
any in use. The body of the burner is made of heavy, 
galvanized sheet-iron. It closely resembles a stove pipe 
in form, but is about 7 inches in diameter and 2 feet 
in length. The bottom is made of the same 
material, and is perforated by about a dozen 
holes, each ^-inch in diameter. Four legs 
support the burner and keep the bottom 3 
inches from the floor. A handle at the top 
completes the device. When filled, the stems 
being packed sufficiently close to insure their 
burning, it contains an amount that will answer 
for a house of 4,000 to 6,000 cubic feet. Much, 
of course, depends upon the tightness of the 
house, and considerable variation will also be 
found in the strength of the stems. Occasion- jo. A home- 

ally some will be had which are much weaker ^ade fumi- 
, gator. 

than those last used, and hence larger quantities 

must be employed. It has been our practice to test each 

new lot of stems to determine their strength before they 





FUMIGATING WITH TOBACCO. 89 

are freely used in all the houses. The quantity must 
also be varied in accordance with the plants growing in 
the house. Some plants are much more easily injured 
by the smoke than others, and the amount used must 
be insufficient to hurt the most tender plants. Less in- 
jury is apt to result if the houses and plants are dry ; wet 
foliage is quite easily scorched by the smoke. Our method 
of starting a "smudge" is to place a single sheet of 
newspaper, previously lighted, in the bottom of the burner, 
and upon this the stems are immediately placed. If prop- 
erlv dampened, they will take fire readily and smoulder 
without blazing. 

The frequency with which a house should be smoked 
cannot be definitely stated. Some conservatories will re- 
quire the operation scarely more than two or three times 
during the winter, while others may need that many treat- 
ments each week. In the latter case, it is well to have 
the smudges upon consecutive days, as in this manner 
insects receive a second treatment before they have re- 
covered from the first. The evening is perhaps the best 
time for fumigating, as most of the disagreeable odor is 
thus escaped. But it may be advisable, in badly infested 
houses, to follow the evening treatment by another the 
next morning. In such cases, care should be exercised 
that the houses do not become overheated by the morn- 
ing sun. 

Tobacco smoke may be used successfully in the de- 
struction of the various aphides which are found upon 
greenhouse plants, and of a small white fly, a species of 
aleyrodes. Other insects cannot be practically treated by 
its use. 

The rose-leaf extract of tobacco we find to be one of 
the best of all insecticides for glass houses. It is a 
liquid, which we reduce one-half with water, then drop 
a large piece of hot iron into it. The fumes are fatal 
to aphis, but have proved to be harmless to plants 
with us. 



go MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 

Bisulphide of carbon. — This material has recently as- 
sumed a prominent position as an effective insecticide. It 
is a clear, transparent liquid, which evaporates rapidly, 
even at a low temperature. These fumes are fatal to in- 
sect as well as animal life, and may be used to a limited 
extent in the greenhouse. The vapor is of greatest value 
in destroying a small mite ( Tetranychics bimaculatus), 
that closely resembles the red spider. This mite is not 
as easily overcome by water as the red spider is, and in 
certain cases it may be advisable to resort to the bisul- 
phide of carbon treatment. This treatment is adapted to 
plants which are growing in pots, or to low-growing 
plants in beds. Whole houses could scarcely be treated 
in this manner, as the vapor is heavy, and an uneven dis- 
tribution would probably result. But for small, con- 
fined spaces, as bell-jars, tubs, or barrels, the remedy can 
be used with success. I have had no difficulty in de- 
stroying mites and red spider by the use of 60 minims 
or drops of the liquid to a space containing about 7 cubic 
feet. The liquid was poured on cotton batting, which was 
spread over a small rose from a watering can, the stem 
of the funnel being set in the soil. The plants remained 
covered with enamel cloth nearly two hours, which suf- 
ficed to kill all the insects, and did not injure the violets, 
these being the plants treated. 

Hydrocyanic gas. — The success which has followed the 
use of hydrocyanic gas in the treatment of scale insects 
infesting the orange groves of California has suggested 
the idea of its possible value in destroying greenhouse 
pests. The common method of making the gas is as fol- 
lows : One fluidounce of sulphuric acid is slowly added 
to 3 ounces of water. To this diluted acid there is then 
added i ounce of 60 per cent cyanide of potassium (very 
poisonous). Effervescence immediately takes place, and 
the gas is freely given off. The quantities here given are 
sufficient for a space containing 150 cubic feet, the plants 
being exposed to the gas for one hour. When trees are 



SULPHUR FOR MILDEWS. 9I 

perfectly dormant, such treatment is not followed by any 
evil effects. 

During the past spring several growing plants were 
exposed to the action of the gas when used according to 
the above directions. Tomatoes, eggplants, oranges, and 
roses were used. The day following the treatment showed 
that all the plants were injured, but to what extent could 
not be well determined. After two weeks had passed, 
however, the effect of the treatment was plainly seen. The 
tomato plant died ; the eggplant and the rose lost all 
their foliage, but fresh leaves were appearing on the 
stems ; the orange suffered the least, since only the 
young leaves were affected. The mites had all been 
killed, so that in this respect at least the experiment was 
successful. 

Other trials were made with the gas, using the same 
kinds of plants, but it was found to be impossible to de- 
stroy the mites without injuring at least some of the 
plants. The use of hydrocyanic gas for the destruction of 
greenhouse pests can therefore scarcely be recommended. 
It should also be remembered that this gas is exceed- 
ingly poisonous, and must not be inhaled. 

Sulphur. — This element is of the greatest service in 
greenhouse work. It is an invaluable agent for the de- 
struction of mildews, and is also of great assistance in 
overcoming red spider. As commonly used, it is mixed 
with an equal bulk of air-slaked lime or some similar 
material, and then water, oil, milk or some other liquid 
is added until a thick, creamy paste is obtained. This is 
then painted upon the heating surfaces in the house, and 
the sulphur fumes are given off. The same result can be 
obtained much more rapidly and energetically by heating 
the flowers of sulphur until it melts ; the fumes are then 
. given off in great abundance. Our practice has been to 
put the sulphur in a shallow pan and then set it over an 
oil-stove, having the flame turned just high enough to 
keep the sulphur in a melted condition. Almost contin- 



92 



MANAGEMENT OF THE FORCING-HOUSE. 



uous watching was necessary to prevent the material 
from taking fire, for if this should occur it would prove 
almost instantly fatal to all the plants which might be 
reached by the gas. The difficulty was in a great measure 
~ overcome by L. C. Corbett, at that time 
an assistant at Cornell, who suggested the 
use of a sand-bath as a means of modifying 
the intensity of the heat. Our present out- 
fit is shown in Fig. 31. It consists of two 
pans placed on an ordinary hand oil-stove. 
The lower pan is half filled with clean, 
coarse sand, and the upper one contains the 
sulphur. By its proper use our houses have 
been kept remarkably free from mildew, 
even under very adverse circumstances. But there is 
constant danger that the sulphur will become heated to 
the burning point, and then the entire stock of plants in 
the house is lost. This use of sulphur is often very con- 
venient, but the work should be placed in the hands of 
a most trustworthy person. If a house should be thor- 
oughly treated in this manner every week or two, scarcely 
any mildew could dexelop. 




Sulphur 
bath. 



CHAPTER IV. 



LETTUCE.* 

Lettuce is the most popular and the most uniformly 
profitable of all vegetable crops grown under glass in this 
country. It grows rapidly, so that three crops can be 
taken from a house between September and April, and 
the demand for a choice product is always good. Lettuce 
is generally considered to be an easy crop to grow under 
glass, and yet it is a fact that few gardeners are entirely 
successful with the crop, year by year, particularly if the 
heading varieties are grown. It thrives best in late 
winter, but if careful attention is given to watering and 
ventilating, it thrives well in midwinter. Good head let- 
tuces should bring 50 cents or 60 cents a dozen heads at 
wholesale, and they often bring more. The loose types 
generally bring somewhat less. 

Lettuce varies greatly in quality, and this variation is 
due in very great measure to the immediate conditions 
under which it is grown. If the plant is very rank, and 
has dark green, thick leaves, the quality is low. A good 

*As stated in the preface, much of the discussion upon methods of 
forcing of vegetables which is presented in this book is founded upon 
bulletins of the Cornell Experiment Station. Some of these bulletins are 
now out of print, and new notes and experiences are constantly ac- 
cumulating, so that it seems to be necessary to revise the advice and 
to extend it with the observations and experiences of others, and 
thereby to present a consecutive manual. It should be added that 
these same bulletins formed the basis of much of Winkler's " Vegeta- 
ble Forcing." and this fact may account for some similarities of lan- 
guage in the two books. 

(93) 



94 LETTUCE. 

lettuce plant is yellowish green in color upon delivery, 
and the leaves are thin and brittle. The product should 
be wholly free from lice, or green-fly, and the tips of the 
leaves should show no tendency to wither or to turn 
brown. If heading lettuce is grown, the leaves should 
roll inward like cabbage leaves, and the heads should be 
compact and nearly globular and yellowish white towards 
the core (see Fig. 34, page 103). 

Temperature. — Lettuce must have a low temperature. 
The night temperature should not rise much above 45°, 
while it may go as low as 40°. The day temperature, in 
the shade, should be 55° to 65°. Lettuce which is kept 
too warm grows too tall, and the leaves are thin and 
flabby, and there is generally more danger of injury from 
aphis, rot and leaf-burn. In midwinter particular atten- 
tion must be given to ventilation, for if the air becomes 
damp and close, mildew or rot is almost sure to de- 
velop. In raising head lettuce, it is common to do the 
watering with tepid water just before heading, in order to 
accelerate the growth. 

Light. — Whilst a lettuce house must have an abun- 
dance of light, the plants do not suffer if they are some 
distance from the glass, and even if they receive little di- 
rect sunlight. The house should have an exposure to- 
wards the sun, and the framework ought to be as light as 
possible, if the best results are to be obtained ; but dif- 
fused light is often as good as the direct burning rays of 
the sun. It should be said, however, that good lettuce 
may often be grown in heavy, rather dark houses, but 
more care is required (particularly in watering), the re- 
sults are less certain, and there is difficulty in growing the 
heading varieties to perfection. The electric light may 
also be used to advantage (see pages 80 and loi). 

Beds and benches. — Most of the commercial lettuce 
forcers prefer to grow the crop in solid or ground beds, 
where the temperature is cool and the conditions of 



SOLID BEDS VS. BENCHES. 



95 



moisture are uniform. This is more especially true of 
the heading varieties. Our own experience has fully 
demonstrated the superiority of solid earth beds over 
benches, for lettuce. We have had good crops in 
benches, but they have required special attention to heat- 
ing and watering, and even then the results are generally 




32. A ground bed, with Grand Rapids lettuce. 

precarious. If, however, the benches have no bottom heat 
— that is, if there are no heating pipes close under them 
and if the sides are open below — very good results, par- 
ticularly with the loose or non-heading sorts, may be had 
from year to year. The benches, when used, should con- 
tain about six inches of earth. Fig. 32 shows an earth 
bed, about 9 inches deep, in which we have had ex- 
cellent success with lettuce. 



96 LETTUCE. 

Soils. — Probably no forced vegetable is so much in- 
fluenced by soil as the lettuce, and no doubt more fail- 
ures are to be ascribed to uncongenial soil than to any 
other single cause. Fortunately this matter has been 
made the subject of a most admirable study by Gallo- 
way,* who finds that the famous heading lettuce of the 
Boston gardeners can be grown to perfection only in soils 
which contain much sand and very little clay and silt. 
These soils allow the water to settle deeply into them, and 
yet hold it without percolation ; the surface is dry, pre- 
venting the occurrence of rot ; the roots forage far and 
wide, and the plant food is quickly available. The full 
characters of the soil used by the Boston growers are set 
forth as follows by Galloway: "Loose at all times, re- 
gardless of treatment, it being possible to push the arm 
into it to a depth of 20 inches or more. Never 'puddles' 
when worked, no matter how wet. Clods or lumps never 
form. A 4-inch dressing of fresh manure, when spaded 
in to a depth of 15 to 20 inches, will be completely dis- 
integrated in six or eight weeks. Sufficient water may be 
added the first of .September, when the first cn^p is 
started, to carry through two crops and a part of a third 
without additional applications, except very light ones 
merely to keep the leaves moist and to induce a move- 
ment of the moisture at the bottom of the bed toward 
the top, where it will come in contact with most of the 
roots. The surface to a depth of an inch dries out 
quickly, and this has an important bearing on the preven- 
tion of wet rot of the lower leaves. The active working 
roots of the plants are found in abundance throughout the 
entire depth of soil, even if this exceeds 30 inches." 

Galloway was able to prepare soil which "gave practi- 
cally the same results " as that which he imported from 
Boston. This soil was made as follows: "Mixture of 

*B. T. Galloway, "The Growth of Lettuce as Affected by the Physi- 
cal Properties of the Soil," Agric. Science, viii. 302 (1894). 



SOILS FOR LETTUCE. 97 

two parts of drift sand and one part of greenhouse soil. 
The sand was obtained from the valley of a stream near 
by, which frequently overflowed its banks, flooding the 
spot where the material was found. The greenhouse soil 
was a mixture consisting of one part of the ordinary clay, 
gneiss soil of the region, and two parts of well-rotted ma- 
nure. Such soil will grow 20 bushels of wheat to the 
acre without fertilization." 

Whilst all these remarks about the great importance 
of the selection of a proper soil are certainly true, it 
should nevertheless be said that a good gardener can get 
good results from a very uncongenial soil, chiefly by giv- 
ing skillful attention to watering. It is always essential to 
the best lettuce growing, however, to avoid "heavy" 
soils. These soils usually lose their w^ater quickly, neces- 
sitating frequent watering, which keeps the surface wet 
and increases danger from damping-off and rot. These 
soils so:>n become hard, compact and "dead," and the 
plants grow slowly, with thick, tough leaves. 

Green (Bulletin 61, Ohio Exp. Sta. ) gives the following 
advice upon soils for winter lettuce: "If the market de- 
mands head lettuce, then it is of the utmost importance 
that the soil should have a considerable per cent of sand, 
and at the same time be sufficiently fertile and have 
capacity for holding moisture. Non-heading sorts, like 
the Grand Rapids, are not so particular as to soil, but it 
is a difficult matter to grow any kind on a soil with 
much clay in it, by surface-watering, and even if sub-irri- 
gation is practiced such soil should be avoided. It would 
be futile to attempt to grow lettuce according to methods 
in vogue in the east on a heavy clay soil. Swamp muck, 
composted with one-fourth or one- half horse manure, 
answers very well for either surface or sub-irrigation, par- 
ticularly for the latter. It has the advantage of being 
light and easily handled, and never hardens ; moreover, 
it has considerable capacity for water. The addition of 
fine sand will greatly improve a clay soil, and it is advisa- 



98 



L ET T UC E . 




LETTUCE IN POTS. 99 

ble, if such soil is used, to take it from an old fence 
row, using the sod only. It may be inferred from the 
above that lettuce may be successfully grown on almost 
any soil, and such is the fact, if conditions are thoroughly 
studied and the details carefully looked after. Neverthe- 
less, it is better to select a soil naturally adapted to the 
purpose if possible, but in any case such artificial means 
as composting and sub-irrigation ought not to be 
neglected." 

Growing in pots. — Good lettuce of the leafy or Grand 
Rapids type can be grown in pots. It is a common 
practice with gardeners to set pots of lettuce in vacant 
places in cool houses for the purpose of utilizing the 
room. Growing in pots is comparatively little used, 
although now and then a grower follows this method ex- 
tensively. A most beautiful crop of pot-grown lettuce is 
shown in Fig. 33 (page 98). The New York State Ex- 
periment Station has made some investigations in the pot- 
growing of lettuce, and has published the results in Bul- 
letin 88 (March, 1895), from which I quote : 

"The seed is sown in flats, as usual ; that is to say, in 
boxes about 12 by 10 inches and 3 inches deep. When 
the plants are about 2 inches high they are transplanted 
to 2-inch pots. The benches are filled with soil, in which 
the pots containing the lettuce are plunged so that the 
tops of the pots are covered with about half an inch of 
soil. 

" Soil for lettuce should not be too heavy, and as the 
soil which we use for potting is a rather heavy clay loam, 
sand is mixed with it in preparing it for the lettuce house. 
The potting soil is composed of three parts by measure 
of loam, one of manure and one of sand. The soil in 
the pots is the same as that used on the bench, except 
that it is sifted, while that on the bench is not. A little 
drainage material is put in the bottom of each pot. The 
plants are usually set on the benches about 10 inches 
apart each way. The roots soon fill the pot and grow 

8 FORC, 



lOO LETTUCE. 

out into the soil of the bench through the drainage hole 
in the bottom of the pot. Being thus buried in the soil, 
the little pots do not dry out as rapidly as they would 
do were they exposed to the air. 

"The soil in the pots is sufficient to support a vigor- 
ous growth, and yet when the roots have filled the pots 
the plants appear to make a more compact growth and 
head quicker than they do when grown in beds where 
the extension of the root system is unchecked. Another 
advantage of this method consists in the fact that the 
plants are transplanted but once, namely, from the flats 
to the pots ; thus the check to the growth by a second 
transplanting is avoided. 

"The plants may be marketed without disturbing their 
roots, and for this reason they keep fresh for a longer 
time than do the plants whose roots are disturbed in pre- 
paring them for market. When the plant is ready for 
market it may be knocked out of the pot and the ball of 
earth, containing the roots undisturbed, may be wrapped 
snugly in oiled paper. The earth will thus keep moist 
for a long time, and furnish moisture to the plant through 
the roots which are imbedded in it. Local customers 
may be supplied with lettuce in the pots and the pots 
returned after the plants are taken from them. Grocers 
and other retail dealers readily appreciate the advantages 
of having lettuce grown in this way. It permits them to 
keep the lettuce on hand for a considerable length of time, 
and still present it to their customers crisp, fresh and at- 
tractive, instead of wilted and unattractive. 

"The moment a pot is removed from the bench 
another may immediately be set in its place without 
waiting to clear the bench, or any portion of it, of the 
rest of the lettuce. The method thus proves economical 
both of time and space. 

"This method will undoubtedly commend itself to 
growers who are forcing, lettuce to a limited extent. 
Whether it can be employed to advantage by those who 



THE SOWING OF LETTUCE. lOI 

have extensive houses devoted to lettuce can be decided 
only by trial. It certainly appears to be worthy of ex- 
tended trial." 

Sowing and transplanting. — If the lettuce crop is to 
be taken off in early November, from seven to ten weeks 
should be counted from the sowing of the seeds to the 
delivery of the product. A midwinter crop may require 
two to four weeks longer. The heading lettuces generally 
require a week or two longer than the loose varieties. 
The time may be shortened ten days to two weeks by 
the use of the electric arc light hung directly above the 
house. A single ordinary street lamp of 2,000 normal 
candle-power will be sufficient for a house 20 feet or 
more wide and 75 feet long, if it is so hung that the 
house is uniformly lighted throughout. Our experiments 
with the electric light, now extended over a period of five 
years, have uniformly and unequivocally given these 
beneficial results with lettuce (see page 80). 

The first sowing for house lettuce is usually made 
about the first of September, and the crop should be off 
in November. The seeds are sown in flats or shallow 
boxes ; it is preferable to prick off the young plants about 
4 inches apart into other flats when they are about two 
weeks old, and transplant them into the beds, about 8 to 
10 inches apart each way, when they are about five weeks 
from the seed. Gardeners often omit the pricking off into 
other flats, simply thinning out the plants where they 
stand and transferring them from the original flat directly 
to the bed ; but better and quicker results are usually 
secured if the extra handling is given. Four or six weeks 
after the first seed is sown, another sowing is made in 
flats for the purpose of taking the place of the first crop. 
The first sowing is sometimes made in the open ground 
early in September, and this is transplanted directly into 
the beds. 

Following are some actual sample dates of good and 
bad lettuce growing in our houses, in a climate which is 



102 LETTUCE. 

unusually cloudy and "slow "in winter: Landreth Forc- 
ing lettuce sown in flats February 24 ; transplanted to 
beds, March 17 ; first heads marketed, under normal con- 
ditions. May 10 ; first heads marketed trom a compartment 
receiving electric light at night (a total of 84 hours), April 
30, or 44 days from seed. Simpson Curled was sown 
October 3 ; November 7, transplanted to bed. It was 
desired to hold the crop back, so that the house was 
kept very cold ; and the variety is not well adapted to 
quick forcing, so that it was January 30 before the entire 
crop was fit for market, making 119 days from seed. 
Grand Rapids lettuce sown December 28 ; transplanted 
to bed, January 16; began marketing March 21. This 
makes 72 days from seed, in the dark months ; and at 
least a week could have been gained if we had not been 
obliged to delay transplanting whilst waiting for a crop 
of chrysanthemums to come off the bed. 

A grower's remarks. — W. W. Rawson, a prominent 
grower of heading lettuce near Boston, is reported* in 
the following sentences respecting some of the essential 
points in the management of the crop: "With lettuce 
planted on the 20th of August, the heads are ready for 
market on the 20th of October. Every five days I plant 
3 ounces of lettuce seed, and this supplies my green- 
houses with plants during the winter, one house being 
set out every week. I transplant twice, first at the fourth 
week, setting them 4 inches apart ; second at the sixth 
week when they are put 8 inches apart. They head dur- 
ing the seventh and eighth weeks. During Decemiber, 
January, February and March there is a continuous crop. 
The last crop of lettuces from the greenhouse is in the 
middle of April. After that I raise them in sashes and 
in the open air. The house should be ventilated from 
the ridge ; if this is not enough, then from one side also. 
The temperature should be warmest when the crop is 



*Aniericaii Gardening, x\'ii. 197 (March 28, 1896). 



w. w. rawson's experience. 



103 



heading, and coolest for the three weeks after setting 
out and just before heading, but not below 35°. As 
soon as a crop is harvested, the house is fumigated, dug 
over, and a new crop set out. Not 24 hours is lost in 



—\ 




34. Boston Matket lettuce. 



changing crops. In renewing the beds use light, loamy 
;oil ; rotted sod is good, if left in a heap for a year to 
decompose fully. With regard to mildew of lettuce, if 
seen soon enough it can be gotten rid of by keeping the 



104 LETTUCE. 

house dry and warm for three days, but most people do 
not discover it soon enough. Fungicides I do not use, 
but generally, when necessary, smoke the house, or place 
powdered sulphur on the steam pipes. For smoking, to- 
bacco stems are used. When lettuces grow ' dog-eared ' 
it is the fault of the grower ; he has kept the temperature 
too high." 

Varieties. — There are two general types of forced let- 
tuce, the cabbage or heading type, and the loose or leafy 
type. The former is chiefly desired in the easternmost 
markets, but is little sought west of New York state. It 
is more difficult to grow than the loose varieties, being 
more particular as to soil and treatment, and requiring a 
somewhat longer season. It is grown to perfection only 
on loose soils and in solid ground beds. The varieties of 
the White-Seeded Tennis Ball or Boston Market type are 
most popular for heading lettuces. The accompanying 
illustration (Fig. 34, page 103) shows four heads of Bos- 
ton Market lettuce sent me by W. W. Rawson, Arlington, 
Mass. The head on top weighed, with roots cut off, 7 
o/s., and tiie one at the left 9;^ ozs. The Grand Rapids 
is a loose-leaved lettuce, shown full grown in Figs. 32 
and 33 (pages 95 and 98). It grows rapidly, is of very 
easy cultivation, and is at the present time the most 
popular lettuce, except in those particular localities where 
the heading varieties are preferred.'* 

Enemies and diseases. — The most inveterate pest of 
the lettuce grower is the green-fly or aphis. If it once 
gets thoroughly established, the most strenuous efforts are 
needed to dislodge it. The pest is most frequent in 
houses that are kept too warm. The plants may be 
sprinkled with tobacco dust, or tobacco stems may be 
strewn upon the ground between the plants and in the 
walks, and either treatment may be expected to keep 

*A test of the varieties of lettuce for forcing purposes is recorded 
in Bull. 43 (1892) of the Ohio Exp. Sta. 



LETTUCE ROT. I05 

down the aphis. It can easily be kept out of the houses 
by fumigating twice a week with tobacco, and probably 
with the rose leaf extract of tobacco. Do not wait until 
the insect appears. Begin fumigating as soon as the plants 
are first pricked off, and continue until within two or 
three weeks of harvest, or longer if necessary. 

The rot often ruins crops of lettuce. The outer leaves 
decay, often quickly, and fall flat upon the ground, leav- 
ing the central core of the plant standing. Fig. 35 is a 
fair sample of a plant collapsed by rot. I once lost an 




jj. Lettuce plant collapsed by the rot. 

entire crop by this disorder. The plants were about two- 
thirds grown and in good condition. The house was 
rather over- piped for lettuce, and we kept it cool by care- 
ful attention to ventilation. It became necessary to be 
absent three days in midwinter. Careful instructions 
were given a workman concerning the management of 
the house, but he kept it too close and too wet, and at 
the end of the three days the crop was past recovery. 

This lettuce rot is due to a fungus {Botrytis vulgaris) 
which lives upon decaying matter on the soil, but when 
the house is kept too warm and damp, and the lettuce 
becomes flabby, it invades the plant and causes irrepara- 
ble ruin. There is no remedy, but if the soil is sandy 
and "sweet" and the house properly managed as to 
moisture and temperature, and top dressings of manure 



I06 LETTUCE. 

are avoided, the disease need not be feared. Particular 
care should be taken to avoid having any water on the 
leaves at night, particularly in dull, cold weather. When 
an attack becomes apparent, the best thing to do is to 
raise the temperature, give plenty of air (but avoid 
draughts), and dry the house off. Galloway speaks of the 
rot as follows, in the article already quoted: "Wet rot 
of the lower leaves, and rotting of the stems and conse- 
quent wilting of the plant, are seldom troublesome in this 
[Boston or sandy] soil if properly handled, because the 
surface is at all times comparatively dry. Wet rot is 
produced by a fungus which may be found at any time 
on pieces of sticks and straws scattered through the soil. 
The fungus does not have the power of breaking down 
the uninjured tissues of the plant, excepting possibly in 
very rare cases. When the tissues become water-soaked, 
however, as they do when in contact with wet soil, the 
fungus, which is also most active in the presence of 
moisture, readily gains entrance and soon develops suf- 
ficient energy to become an active parasite." 

The mildew {Pcronospora gauglifoinnis) is the staple 
I'ettuce disease of the books, but it is much less frequent 
than the rot. It is induced by sudden changes of tem- 
perature, soft, flabby plants, and too much water at night. 
Fumes of sulphur may be expected to keep it in check 
when the sanitary conditions of the house are set at 
rights. No doubt much of the trouble ascribed to mil- 
dew is really the rot. 

Leaf-burn is a dying of the tips of the leaves when the 
plant is nearly or quite mature. It is particularly trouble- 
some on the heading varieties, in which the slightest 
blemish upon the leaves detracts greatly from the sell- 
ing qualities of the lettuce. This difficulty, according to 
Galloway, is attributable largely to the soil: "Top-burn, 
one of the worst troubles of the lettuce grower, does com- 
paratively little injury on this Boston soil, providing the 
proper attention is given to ventilation and the manage- 



LEAF-BURN OF LETTUCE. IO7 

ment of the water and heat. Burn is the direct result of 
the collapse and death of the cells composing the edges 
of the leaves. It is most likely to occur just as the plant 
begins to head, and may be induced by a number of 
causes. The trouble is most likely to result on a bright 
day following several days of cloudy, wet weather. Dur- 
ing cloudy weather in winter the air in a greenhouse is 
practically saturated, and in consequence there is com- 
paratively little transpiration on the part of the leaves. 
The cells, therefore, become excessively turgid, and are 
probably weakened by the presence of organic acids. 
When the sun suddenly appears, as it often does after 
a cloudy spell in winter, there is an inmitdiate, rapid rise 
in temperature and a diminution of the amount of moist- 
ure in the air in the greenhouse. Under these conditions 
the plant rapidly gives off water, and if the loss is greater 
than the roots can supply the tissues first wilt, then col- 
lapse and die. The ability of the roots to supply the 
moisture is affected by the temperature of the soil, the 
movement of water in the latter, and the presence or 
absence of salts in solution. In this soil the temperature 
rises rapidly as soon as the air in the greenhouse becomes 
warm, and the roots in consequence immediately begin 
the work of supplying the leaves with water. The move- 
ment of the water in the soil is also rapid, so that the 
plant is able to utilize it rapidly." 



CHAPTER V. 



CAULIFLOWER, 

There is probably no vegetable which is capable of 
profitable forcing in America concerning which so little 
has been written in reference to its treatment under glass 
as cauliflower. It is true that the literature of vegetable 
forcing is very meagre in this country, and it is, therefore, 
little wonder that the cauliflower, which is scarcely known 
as a winter crop outside the establishments of wealthy 
persons who employ gardeners, should have received so 
little attention from writers. It should be said that in 
speaking of the forcing of cauliflowers, reference is made 
to the practice of growing them under glass to maturity 
in the cold months, and not to the much commoner prac- 
tice of growing them to a large size under frames or sash- 
covered houses and stripping the sash off upon the ap- 
proach of warm weather and allowing them to mature 
without cover. The management of cauliflowers under 
glass is a simple matter, particularly in houses which are 
adapted to lettuce, so that it is unnecessary to make any 
extended account of the operation. A sketch of some of 
the experiments made at Cornell will sufficiently indicate 
the methods to be employed. 

Unsuccessful experiments. — In our first crop, the 
seeds were sown in "flats" or shallow boxes, and the 
young plants were transplanted into pots. When the 
plants were 8 or to inches high they had been shifted 
to 8-inch pots, and knowing that cauliflowers delight 
in a low temperature, the pots were set upon the ground 

(io8) 



EXPERIENCE WITH CAULIFLOWER. lOQ 

in a cool lean-to house, where the temperature often went 
below 40°. The floor of this house was cold and wet, 
and it was soon evident that the plants were suffering. 
They were removed, therefore, into an intermediate tem- 
perature. Growth soon began again, and small heads 
began to form before the plants had reached the proper 
size. These heads, however, soon split or "buttoned," 
and none of them were merchantable. The lesson was 
evident. The plants had been checked, and under the 
sudden stimulus of a new growth the premature heads 
were ruptured. The experiment was repeated the follow- 
ing winter in a small way, the attempt being made to 
keep the plants in a uniform condition of vigor and 
growth throughout their life time. This attempt was 
successful, and it led to two larger experiments. In this 
second trial, the plants were grown in 6-inch pots, but 
this was thereafter abandoned as too expensive and 
troublesome. 

The successful crops. — The house in which the two 
first successful crops were grown is a low two-thirds span, 
facing the south, 60 ft. long by 20 ft. wide. It is built 
upon a side hill, and it has three benches, the two lower 
ones being used for the cauliflowers. The lowest bench, 
against the south wall, has a board bottom underneath 7 
or 8 inches of soil, and is supplied with mild bottom heat 
from two iX-inch steam pipes. The main or central bench, 
7 feet wide, is solid : that is, it is a ground bed, and has no 
bottom heat. The soil in this bed is about 8 inches deep, 
and it rests upon a natural subsoil of very hard clay. 
The soil in both beds was placed upon them in the pre- 
ceding fall, and it was made of good garden loam with 
which a very liberal supply of old manure was mixed. 
One load of manure mixed with three or four of the 
earth makes a good soil ; and if it is somewhat heavy 
or pasty, sand must be supplied to it to afford perfect 
drainage and prevent it from getting "sour" or hard. 
The lower bed, which had bottom heat, did so poorly 



no 



CAULIFLOWER 




TREATMENT OF CAULIFLOWER. Ill 

under both crops that I shall dismiss it at once from this 
account. The plants were later than those in the solid 
bed, and never equaled them in size and percentage of 
good heads ; and they were conspicuously lacking in uni- 
formity. So few good heads formed that the bed did 
not return the labor expended upon it. 

Seeds for the first crop were sown in boxes on August 
24. The plants, having been once transplanted, were set 
in the beds October 4 and 5, about 16 inches apart each 
way. Three varieties were used, — Extra Early Dwarf 
Erfurt, Gilt-Edge Snowball and Early Snowball. 

The plants were watered two or three times a week, 
as occasion demanded, and the ground was frequently 
stirred with a hand weeder. An abundance of air was 
given during the day, a row of small ventilators along the 
peak of the house being thrown open even in sharp 
weather if the sun was bright and there was little air stir- 
ring. From 60° to 70° during the day and about 50° at 
night were considered to be the ideal temperatures, 
although in very bright days the mercury might register 
80° for a time and the night temperature several times 
sank below 40°. There was a tendency for the plants to 
damp off soon after they were set, but care in not water- 
ing to^ much (particularly close about the plant) and in giv- 
ing an abundance of fresh air seemed to keep the trouble 
in check ; and new plants were set into the vacancies. 
We were obliged to contend with two other enemies, the 
green-fly or aphis, and the common green cabbage 
worm. The aphis is readily kept in check by tobacco 
smudge. The first cabbage worms were noticed Novem^ 
ber 21, and for a couple of weeks they had to be care- 
fully picked. The boxes of young plants had stood out 
of doors during September, and it is probable that eggs 
were laid upon the plants at that time. 

The first week in December, heads were beginning to 
form. The first heads were sold January 13, four and a- 
half months from the sowing of the seed. The Erfurt 



112 CAULIFLOWER. 

gave the earliest and evidently the best results. The 
plants had been somewhat checked late in their history 
by very dark weather and possibly by some inattention 
in management, and many of the heads began to "but- 
ton," or to break into irregular portions, with a tendency 
to go to seed. The house was needed for other experi- 
ments, and on January 20 the plants were all removed. 
At this time nearly three-fourths of the crop had matured 
sufficiently to give marketable heads, although many of 
the heads were small. Winter cauliflowers, in common 
with all forced crops, should be harvested when small, 
for products of medium or even small size sell for nearly 
or quite as much as large ones in winter, and the cost of 
raising them is much less. A head 4 inches across is 
large enough for January sales, and many of the heads 
which we sold were considerably smaller than this. These 
heads sold readily at our door for 20 cents apiece. 

January 25, a second crop of cauliflowers was set in 
the beds, comprising Early Snowball and Dwarf Erfurt. 
Seeds for this crop were sown in flats October 21. On 
November 5 the plants were transplanted to other flats, 
and on December 16 shifted to 3-inch pots, where they 
remained until set in the bed. On April 8, the plants 
had reached the size shown in the photograph in Fig. 36 
(page no). At this time they completely covered the 
ground, and choked out lettuce which had been placed 
between them. About the 20th of March, heads were 
found to be forming in the Early Snowball. In the 
former experiment, Erfurt gave the first heads. A week 
later than this, Snowball had heads 3 to 4 inches in 
diameter, while Erfurt showed none. The first heads 
were sold on the 29th of March, about five and one-third 
months from the time of sowing. It will be observed 
that the time between sowing and harvest is greater in 
the second crop than in the first. This is because the 
plants were wholly grown in the dark and short days 
of midwinter. It should be added, also, that the climate 



TREATMENT OF CAULIFLOWER. 



113 



of Ithaca is excessively cloudy, and that the forcing 
of plants presents special difficulties here. 

An attempt was now made to keep the plants in a 
uniform but not exuberant state of vigor to prevent the 
heads from buttoning. The crop held up well, and on 
the ist of May, when the experiment closed, there were 
many merchantable heads unsold. Ninety per cent of the 
plants made good heads, which is a very large propor- 




3J. A head of winter cauliflower. 



tion, even for the best field culture. In this crop, the 
heads were allowed to attain a larger size than in the 
midwinter crop, the average diameter being about 6 
inches. A good head of Snowball is shown in Fig. 37. 
It is rarely necessary to bleach the heads, as is done 
in field culture. Late in the season, in April, it may be 
necessary to break a leaf down over a head now and 
then to protect it from too hot sun, but ordinarily the 
heads will be perfectly white under glass, when full 



114 Cauliflower. 

grown. The heads are as sweet and tender as the best 
field product, and we have rarely grown a crop under 
glass, either of vegetables or flowers, which was sd satis- 
factory and which attracted so much attention as these 
crops of cauliflowers. As to varieties, there is evidently 
little choice between the Erfurt and Snowball strains. In 
the last and most successful crop, the Early Snowball 
was the earlier, but otherwise it had little if any superi- 
ority over the other. 

Subsequent experience has confirmed the methods 
detailed above, and has convinced us that cauliflower is 
one of the most satisfactory plants for forcing, so far as 
the growing of them is concerned. It is a question 
whether they would bring sufficient price in the market 
to warrant the raising of them in winter. The grower 
would certainly need to have a special market, for it is 
not a staple commodity. Field-grown cauliflowers are 
now kept in cold storage, which would still further re- 
duce the demand for forced heads. It should be said, 
in closing, that cauliflower seed is very expensixe, and 
that only the very best seed can be relied upon for good 
results. 



CHAPTER VI. 



RADISH. 

CORNELL EXPERIENCE.* 

The radish is generally considered to be a vegetable 
which may be forced without any special difficulty. The 
prevalence of this opinion is probably due to the fact that 
the plants are grown out of doors w^ithout any trouble, 
and also to the still common practice of growing them in 
hotbeds. Under these various conditions, nearly all va- 
rieties of radishes thrive ; but, nevertheless, it is a fact 
that the radish is one of the most sensitive of all the 
vegetables forced for market. It is impatient in a high 
temperature, slow and unsatisfactory in a cold one ; it 
imperatively demands light, and the least shade causes 
the stem to elongate so that the foliage may be as near 
as possible to the sunshine ; it becomes tough and un- 
palatable in poor soil, while in rich earth, with plenty of 
moisture, it yields readily to the attacks of the various 
damping-off fungi ; and it must be grown quickly 
("forced") in order to make the flesh crisp and of a 
delicate flavor. Conditions which will meet these re- 
quirements are not found in all forcing establishments. 
Radishes often thrive between cucumbers, when these 
plants are grown as a late winter crop, following lettuce. 

Sowing. — Radishes are always propagated from seeds. 

*By E. G. Lodeman. More detailed results maj^ be expected, in 
bulletin form, when the experiments which are now in progress 
mature. 

9 FORC. (115) 



Il6 RADISH. 

These are fairly large, and as a rule they possess strong 
powers of germination. The starting of the plants is, 
therefore, an easy matter ; the seeds may be sown in 
drills from one-fourth to one-half an inch deep, the 
greater depth being preferred for light, sandy soils. They 
are generally sown thickly, and the seedlings are after- 
wards thinned to the desired distance ; but if the seeds are 
fresh they may be planted at intervals of about one-fourth 
inch in the drills. This should insure a good stand. A 
convenient method of making the drills in hotbeds and 
benches is to fasten to one side of a lath a strip that is 
about a quarter of an inch thick and as wide as the drill 
is to be deep. This is nailed edgewise along the center 

of the lath (Fig, 38), and 
the drills are made by press- 
ing the projecting piece into 
the soil until the lath will 
allow it to go no further. 
j8. Planting stick. It is tlif u carefully with- 

drawn, and if the soil is 
properly prepared and not too dry, a perfect groove 
will be formed. A very uniform depth can be attained 
in this manner. 

Soil. — The soil for radishes should be what is known 
as warm and quick. Sand should predominate, but 
plenty of humus and well rotted-stable manure must be 
mixed with it. By composting thinly-cut sod growing 
upon sandy loam with one-third its volume of stable ma- 
nure, a good radish soil will be formed. It will be ready 
for use in about a year, and if at the end of that time 
the vegetable fiber is not thoroughly decayed, it will not 
matter. Such a compost is suitable for nearly all vege- 
tables grown in greenhouses, but it is especially valuable 
for rapid-growing crops. When placed upon a layer of 
ashes, coarse gravel, inverted sods, or some similar open 
material, the drainage is perfect, and the plants have an 
excellent opportunity for rapid growth. 




SOWING THE SEED. 



117 



The amount of soil required by radishes varies with 
the varieties grown. The small, spherical-shaped sorts do 
well in a depth of only 3 or 4 inches, while the long-rooted 
varieties require almost twice as much. After the soil 
has been placed in the benches it should be made moder- 
ately firm by packing it with some heavy object ; a brick 




J9 A bunch of winter radishes. 

answers the purpose well. If it is inclined to be dry, it 
should be moistened, for when in proper condition for 
seed sowing it may be worked to the best advantage. 

General management. — The drills may be made 3 or 4 
inches apart for the smaller and more rapidly maturing 
varieties ; for the others, 5 or 6 inches between the rows 
will be sufficient. 



Il8 RADISH. 

After the seed has been sown and the earth above 
has been well firmed, no watering will be necessary until 
the seedlings appear, unless the soil was too dry to begin 
with. In that case, water as freely as necessary ; there is 
little danger of applying too much. The seedlings should 
appear in four or five days, and a week or ten days later 
they may be thinned. The small kinds will do well if two 
or three are left to the inch ; the large ones require more 
room, and one plant to about an inch of space will be 
found none too thin. When this work has been done, 
nearly all the further attention necessary will be to main- 
tain a proper temperature and to apply water when it is 
needed. Weeding, and an occasional cultivation with a 
hand weeder, should not be neglected. 

As has already been said, the successful forcing of 
radishes is not such an easy matter as it would at first 
appear. The more important of the difficulties will now 
be considered in detail. 

The conditions found in a hotbed which is almost 
spent are very nearly ideal for forcing radishes. In the 
first place, the temperatures of the soil and the air unde** 
the glass are as nearly right as they can well be made. 
As a rule, the radish is believed to do best in a cool 
house, one having a temperature of 4o°-6o°.* The soil 
in such a house should not be much warmer. But in a 
hotbed it is warmer, and frequently very much warmer. 
This explains the rapid and luxuriant growth which may 
be produced apparently without effort on the part of the 

* " It adapts itself to hotbeds and forcing-houses quite well, but it 
objects to an overheated forcing-house as much as to an excessively 
exposed coldframe. It grows too many leaves and becomes pithy in 
one situation, and in the other case its growth is stunted or 
wholly checked, and under severe freezing it dies. Its proper tem- 
perature is from 40° to 65°, with plenty of fresh air. In rich soil, with 
sufficient water, it is a quick cropper, sometimes being ready for 
market in 21 days from the seed." * * * " The wholesale market 
price of radishes at Philadelphia in winter maybe quoted at $2 to |4 
per 100 bunches."— Z?rf<?y' J Vegetables Under Glass,'' 57, 59. 



TEMPERATURE AND LIGHT. IIQ 

grower. Repeated trials in gro\\:ing radishes in large 
houses having different temperatures have shown plainly 
that during the first two or three weeks, at least, radishes 
will bear well a soil temperature of fully 65° F., and 70° 
has not proved too much in several instances. If suffi- 
cient moisture is present the plants must grow, and they 
must mature quickly. 

But although a high soil temperature is desirable, it 
does not follow that the atmosphere should be equally 
warm. On the contrary, if the temperature of the house 
can be kept about 10 degrees below that of the soil, the 
tendency to leaf formation will probably be checked. The 
hotbed may again serve as a guide. Here the heat is in 
the soil, bottom heat, as it is called, and the large amount 
of glass, as compared with the amount of air-space, must 
have a strong tendency to lower the temperature about 
the foliage ; that surrounding the roots is much less af- 
fected . 

Another important point, — one which has not been 
duly emphasized in connection with this crop, — is the 
amount of light received by the plants. Few plants show 
the want of light more quickly than radishes. If the 
shadow of a steam pipe or of a board falls upon the 
bench, the plants soon become drawn ; the shadow cast 
by tall-growing varieties causes the shorter ones to grow 
more upright ; a roof having small panes of glass and a 
comparatively large amount of wood-work has a strong 
tendency to prevent the plants from forming bottoms, un- 
less the glass is close to the foliage ; and if no direct sun- 
light is allowed to reach the plants, no swelling of the 
stem may take place, but the plants will grow very slen- 
der, and finally die, as if attacked by some unknown 
malady. If radish seed is sown very thickly, a similar re- 
sult may occur even in places which are fairly well 
lighted. The strong growth of foliage excludes practi- 
cally all the light from the soil, and the plants will form no 
bottoms. 



130 RADISH. 

The above remarks seem to show the necessity of thin- 
ning plants properly if the finest and most tender radishes 
are wanted. Thinning allows light and air to enter freely 
to all portions of the plants above ground, and the condi- 
tions are consequently favorable to rapid growth. 

A moderately moist atmosphere appears to be favor- 
able to the strong and quick development of radishes. 
When this crop is forced in hotbeds, the sash are neces- 
sarily lowered at times, and a confined air surrounds the 
plants, frequently for considerable periods. They appear 
to thrive under such treatment, and it is desirable to pro- 
duce the same condition when growing the plants in 
greenhouses. 

It is rare that the soil in a hotbed is more than 12 or 
15 inches from the glass. This allows an abundance of 
light to reach the plants. The benches in a forcing-house 
cannot be so favorably placed in all their parts, and the 
best way of correcting the fault is to use large glass and 
a light framework in the roof Under such conditions 
the plants will frequently do fairly well 8 or 10 feet from 
the glass. But with a light roof, the panes being at least 
12 X 14 inches, the conditions approach more nearly those 
existing out of doors, and this explains the fact that the 
plants do not become drawn or "leggy." 

Varieties. — There are a great many varieties of rad- 
ishes ; they differ mostly in form, color, and time of ma- 
turity. Those which mature rapidly are the ones most 
commonly forced, and a greater number of crops may be 
removed in a given time. Several mature, under favor- 
able conditions, about three weeks from the time of seed 
sowing. These are nearly all red in color, and mostly of 
a spherical or olive form. The following may be recom- 
mended : Ne Plus Ultra, New Rapid Forcing, Extra 
Early Carmine Olive-shaped, Earliest Carmine Turnip, 
Early Scarlet Globe, Twenty-day Forcing, Earliest White, 
New White Forcing. 

Among the best of those which mature about a week 



GALLOWAY S EXPERIENCE. 121 

later than the above, may be named New Crystal Forc- 
ing (white), New White Lady-Finger, Succession, French 
Breakfest, Long Scarlet Short-top, Long Cardinal. As 
already stated, the long radishes are not so satisfactory 
for forcing as the smaller varieties are. It must also be 
borne in mind that varieties of radishes, as of most other 
vegetables, are constantly changing, so that the varieties 
which are recommended to-day may not be recommended 
a year from now. 

WASHINGTON EXPERIENCE.'^ 

In the vicinity of many of our large cities the grow- 
ing of radishes in greenhouses may, if properly done, 
prove a profitable industry. The following notes on the 
subject are based upon work carried on during the past 
four or five years, supplemented by observations extend- 
ing over a longer period : 

Houses adapted to growing radishes. — Radishes may 
be grown in almost any kind of a greenhouse, and for 
this reason the crop is a valuable one to work in with 
others, such as lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. We do 
not advocate, however, the practice of growing radishes 
in a house with other crops, unless it is in certain special 
cases, where there is ground to spare and requirements 
for each crop are approximately the same. As is the 
case with all plants under glass, better results will follow 
if an entire house is devoted to one crop, thus making it 
possible to furnish, without fear of injury to other crops, 
the necessary requirements for growth. 

Three-quarter span houses, i8 feet wide, with two 
walks and three beds, will be found as convenient as any 
for the crop. Three-quarter span houses with one path 
will also be found useful. Such a house, with young rad- 
ishes just coming through the ground, is shown at Fig. 40. 

*By B. T. Galloway, in American Gardening, xvii. 609, 610 (Sept. 
26, 1896). 



122 RADISH. 

The walks should be from 14 to 18 inches wide, de- 
pending on the depth, and should have their sides made 
of 2-inch hemlock or cypress boards, fastened to sawed 
cedar or other durable posts. Good crops may be grown 
in even-span houses, and even a lean-to may be used, if 
proper facilities for heating and ventilating are present. 

The soil.— In order to obtain solid, crisp radishes, the 
soil must not contain too much manure, nor should sand 
predominate. Ordinary garden loam, containing about 7 
per cent clay, makes the best soil. To this should be 
added well-rotted manure in the proportion of one part 
manure to three or four parts soil. 

We prefer solid beds to benches, as the conditions are 
more uniform in the former and the expense of maintain- 
ing them is less. The beds should be from 6 to 8 inches 
deep, but good crops may be grown on 4 inches of pre- 
pared soil. In the latter case it is necessary to add a 
little manure after each crop, while if deeper beds are 
used the same soil will answer for the entire season's 
work. If the radishes are followed by cucumbers, the 
manure necessary for the latter will serve for next sea- 
son's radishes, but it will be necessary in such cases to 
remove about 2 inches of this extra manured soil and re- 
place it with loam from the outside. The new loam 
should then be thoroughly mixed with the soil already in 
the house, and when this is accomplished the seed may 
be planted. 

Planting the seed. — Radishes which come into the 
market before Thanksgiving are seldom profitable, and 
for this reason it is best to postpone the first seed-sowing 
until about the middle of October. Previous to this time 
the house may be used for growing stock plants of let- 
tuce. By this we mean that lettuce sowed in the house, 
September i, and transplanted 4 by 4 inches September 
15, will be large enough by the first week in October to 
transplant to other houses, where it is to head. 

Previous to sowing the radish seed, the ground should 



LARGE VS. SMALL SEED. 



123 



be made smooth and as free from lumps as possible. By 
means of a light pine board 4 inches wide, rows 4 inches 
apart are marked off. The edge of a common lath is 
then placed in the marks and gently pressed into the soil 
until a narrow furrow one inch deep is made. The seed 
is then dropped in the furrow about half an inch apart, 
covered, and pressed down with the hand. Working in 







40. A three-quarter span radish house. 



this way, two men can plant almost 150 square feet an 
hour, and will use about 3 ounces of seed. As soon as 
the radishes are up and the seed leaves are well formed, 
the plants should be thinned out to i>^ to 2 inches apart. 
It is of the highest importance to have all the radishes 
attain marketable size at the same time, and to accom- 
plish this it will be necessary to use only the large seed. 
Where the seed as ordinarily obtained in the market is 
used, about 35 per cent of the crop will reach marketable 



124 RADISH. 

size in from 35 to 40 days, 28 per cent will require 15 
days longer, while the rest will in all probability never 
be worth anything. By using only the large seed, 90 per 
cent of the crop will come in at one time, thus making it 
possible to pull practically all the crop at once and imme- 
diately replant. As obtained in the market, about one- 
third of the seeds are too small to use, and consequently 
are thrown away. 

Two pounds of seed was screened so as to separate 
the large from the small seed. In this case there was 
obtained from the 2 pounds of seed 19V2 ounces of large 
seed and 10-3 of small. The remainder was made up of 
pieces of gravel and crushed seed, bits of sticks, etc. The 
seed cost wholesale 60 cents per pound, and if one-third 
by weight is thrown away it brings the cost up to 80 
cents per pound. This is a very small matter, however, 
in view of the many advantages resulting from the use 
of the large seed. 

For screening the seed we use a sieve made as fol- 
lows : A circular piece of thin sheet brass 6 inches in di- 
ameter has holes 2-25 of an inch (2 mm.) in diameter 
punched or rather cut in it, the holes being about 1-16 of 
an inch apart. The perforated sheet is then provided 
with a rim of brass or tin 2 inches high. We have then 
nothing more than a shallow cup or basin, with numer- 
ous holes in the bottom. A handful or more of seed is 
placed in this cup, and a few minutes' shaking will cause 
all the small seed to drop through the holes, while the 
large ones which cannot get through remain behind. 

Varieties to plant. — In our experience, most of the 
markets prefer a bright scarlet turnip-shaped root. The 
pure scarlets always sell better than those tinged with 
purple, or having white tips. Ne Plus Ultra, Roman Car- 
mine and Prussian Globe have proved the three best 
kinds for forcing. We have tried 20 or 25 other varieties, 
but soon gave them up on account of various undesir- 
able qualities. 



TREATMENT OF RADISHES. 125 

Preparing the crop for market. — When the crop is 
ready to market, which will generally be about 40 days 
from the time of planting, the roots are pulled and tied 
6 to 8 in a bunch, or 12 to 16, as the market may re- 
quire. Everything is pulled clean, and when a sufficient 
number of bunches is obtained they are thrown into a 
tank, tub or barrel and washed in clean water. Ordinarily 
there is very little soil adhering to the roots, so that the 
washing is a comparatively easy matter. Care must be 
exercised, however, in keeping the water clean, otherwise 
the radishes will go to market lacking the gloss that 
helps to sell them. 

As soon as the plants are pulled the ground should 
immediately be forked over, smoothed, and planted, as al- 
ready described. Following the foregoing plan, the first 
crop will be ready for market about Thanksgiving, the 
second crop January 5 to 10, the third crop the last week 
in February, and the fourth crop the first week in April. 
After this the house will pay better planted to cucumbers, 
which should by this time be in 6 or 8 inch pots. 

Approximate yields per square foot. — A square foot of 
ground should yield on an average 16 bunches of rad- 
ishes, 6 to 8 in a bunch, in the period extending from 
October 15 to April 10. The price will average 2 cents 
per bunch, making the returns 32 cents per square foot. 

Temperature, moisture, insects and diseases. — The rad- 
ish cannot be pushed by heat. A night temperature of 
45° to 50°, with 20° to 25° more during the day, is about 
right. If too much bottom heat is given the plant will 
run to top. Watering should be carefully done, and in 
no case should the soil be allowed to become dry enough 
for the plants to wilt. In such cases a heavy watering 
is likely to cause the radishes to crack, thus rendering 
them unfit for market. 

Insects and diseases cause very little trouble. Green- 
fly sometimes proves difficult to manage, but a light fumi- 
gation every two weeks with tobacco stems will keep the 



126 RADISH. 

pest in check. The only disease worthy of mention is 
the cracking, to which reference has been made. Too 
much manure in the soil and the improper use of water 
are largely responsible for this trouble. The remedy is 
obvious. 

Summary. — (i) Radishes may be successfully grown in 
almost any kind of a house. 

(2) The soil should be moderately heavy, and hold 
water, but not bake or crack. 

(3) Solid beds are preferable to benches, because the 
conditions of moisture and heat may be kept more uni- 
form and the expense is less. 

(4) Two men should plant 150 square feet per hour, 
using 3 ounces of seed in the work. 

(5) The seed should be screened and all less than 2-25 
of an inch in diameter should be thrown away. By fol- 
lowing this plan 90 per cent of the crop will attain mar- 
ketable size at the same time. 

(6) Ne Plus Ultra, Roman Carmine and Prussian Globe 
have proved the best varieties for forcing. 

(7) Four crops may be grown from October 15 to 
April 10, and the returns should average 30 to 32 cents 
per square foot. 



CHAPTER VII. 



ASPARAGUS AND RHUBARB. 

Asparagus and rhubarb are generally forced from 
transplanted roots. That is, strong plants, four or more 
years old, are dug from the field and taken to the house 
for forcing. The crop is produced chiefly from the nour- 
ishment which is stored in the roots, and the roots are 
exhausted by the crop, and are then thrown away. 

Inasmuch as the plants do not grow by becoming 
rooted and established in the soil after their removal to 
the house, it follows that they do not demand direct sun- 
light. In fact, the product may be tenderer and more sale- 
able for being grown in a dull or even a nearly dark 
place. The roots are usually set underneath the benches 
in the glass house, but they may be set in the potting- 
room (if warm enough), or even in the cellar near the 
heater. The most rapid growth will be secured when the 
temperature is high (even as high as 70° at night), but a 
stockier and better product may often be grown when the 
temperature is somewhat lower. 

There are various means of forcing asparagus and rhu- 
barb where they stand, in the field. One of the common- 
est is to place the half of a barrel over a clump in very 
early spring, and then to pile fermenting horse manure 
about the barrel. The heat from the manure will start 
the plant into a precocious growth. In Europe, aspara- 
gus is sometimes forced where it grows by piling manure 
into trenches which are dug (and sometimes bricked up, 
with openings in the walls) between the rows. These 

(127) 



128 



ASPARAGUS AND RHUBARB. 



trenches are sometimes heated by hot-water pipes. In 
some instances, sashes are placed over the plants tem- 
porarily. 

These various practices have suggested the idea that 
asparagus, rhubarb, sea-kale, and the like, might be per- 
manently grown in a house with a removable roof, so 
that heat could be applied to them late in winter, and 
the roof then be removed and the plants find themselves 
growing out of doors in normal conditions. If the ground 
were well enriched, it would seem that such plantations 




41. Frame-work and heating pipes of Cornell asparagus house. 



ought to be able to be forced for several or many years 
in succession. Acting upon this suggestion, an aspara- 
gus house has been erected at Cornell. The experience 
with this house has not been sufficiently extended to 
warrant any conclusions from the experiment, but it 
promises well, and a description of it may be suggestive 
to the reader who is interested in the forcing of aspara- 
gus or rhubarb. 



AN ASPARAGUS HOUSE, 



129 



This Cornell asparagus house — if it may be called a 
house — is about 20x50 ft, and the frame is made of 
steam pipes (Fig. 41, page 128). The sides or walls are 
only 18 in. high, and the frame consists simply of a ridge 
and three pairs of rafters. The steam-heating pipe, or 




42. Ihe asparagus house covered with canvas. 



riser, is seen at A, just beneath the ridge, and this feeds 
two returns upon either side of the house, next the walls. 
When it is desired to force the asparagus, canvas or mus- 
lin is stretched over the frame (as in Fig. 42). No diffi- 
culty has been found in starting the asparagus into growth 
in January and February. The cover is left on and the heat 



130 ASPARAGUS AND RHUBARB. 

kept up until all danger of frost is past, when the canvas 
is removed and the plants grow naturally out of doors. 
It is probable that some such plan as this will be found 
to be perfectly practicable in the forcing of asparagus and 
rhubarb, and thus obviate the wasteful methods now in 
use of forcing and destroying transplanted roots. The 
secret of this method will no doubt be found to lie in 
allowing the plantation to become very thoroughly es- 
tablished (at least three or four years old) before forc- 
ing is attempted, in the very best tillage and fertilizing 
during the summer whilst the plants are growing, in tak- 
ing off the cover just as soon as settled weather comes, 
and in not cutting the plants after that time. 

ASPARAGUS. 

The most essential point in the forcing of asparagus 
from transplanted roots, is to have very strong roots. 
They should not be less than four years old from the 
planting of the bed, and five and six-year roots are com- 
monly better. It is often almost impossible to secure 
good roots, for the best roots are the ones which the 
asparagus grower most desires to keep in his plantation. 
The two circumstances which yield the best roots, as a 
rule, are the growing of the plantation for this particular 
purpose, and the taking out of alternate rows in planta- 
tions which have become too crowded. The grower is 
often obliged to take the roots from old and partially 
spent beds, but the best results are not always secured 
from such stock. 

The roots are dug as late in the fall as possible, care 
being taken not to break the clumps, and to retain as 
much soil as possible, and they are then piled in a shed 
or cold cellar where they can be had as wanted. In this 
storage, they should be covered with earth or litter to 
prevent them from drying out, and freezing is supposed 
to add to their value for forcing. 



ASPARAGUS UNDER BENCHES. I3I 

The roots are commonly forced under the benches of 
a forcing-house. They may be handled in a hotbed, but 
as hotbeds are outside the purpose of this book, this 
method of forcing will not be discussed in detail. It may 
be said, however, that forcing in hotbeds differs in no 
important respect from forcing in the house. A space is 
made under the bench at least 3 inches deeper than the 
clumps which it is desired to force. This space may be 
either a pit dug into the ground, or it may be formed by 
boards upon top of the earth. The pit will generally need 
to be at least a foot deep. In the bottom is placed a 
couple of inches of good soil, and upon this soil the 
clumps are solidly placed, standing them as close together 
as possible. Earth is now filled in between the clumps, 
and the crowns are covered with earth at least an inch 
deep. If it is desired to bleach the asparagus, 6 or 8 
inches of soil should be covered over the clumps. 

The temperature should be kept rather low for a few 
days, until the roots become thoroughly settled in place. 
After that, the temperature may be raised to that re- 
quired for roses, or even higher. Very high tempera- 
tures give spindling shoots. It is essential that the roots 
be profusely watered. New roots are brought in every 
three or four weeks, to give a succession. 

The following are actual dates of asparagus forcing, 
under benches, at Cornell : Plants taken from an old 
patch November 20, 1893, and set under benches three 
days later. December 4, plants just pushing through. De- 
cember 8, first shoots cut, averaging 9 inches long. De- 
cember 14, first good cutting, shoots running from 6 to 15 
inches long. December 18, second good cutting. De- 
cember 26, a good cutting, some of the shoots having re- 
mained too long and become woody ; some of these 
shoots were 2 ft. long. January 10, a heavy cutting. 
January 19, cut about half as many shoots as on the loth. 
January 30, cut about as much as on the 19th, but shoots 
growing smaller. February 10, small cutting of weak 

10 FORC. 



132 ASPARAGUS AND RHUBARB. 

shoots. Beyond this time there were no shoots worth 
cutting. These plants were forced most too rapidly at 
first, with the result of getting too many spindling shoots. 
John Gardner's method.* — "I prefer roots three or four 
years old for forcing ; but the age is immaterial, provided 
a vigorous growth has been made the previous season. 
The roots are originally planted out in rows 5 feet apart 
and a foot apart in the row, covered with 3 inches of soil, 
and cultivated as for an ordinary crop. When wanted 
for forcing the roots are plowed out, with as little damage 
to them as possible. In neighborhoods where asparagus 
is grown for market, farmers will often plant as above, 
and then, in the third or fourth year, will plow out every 
other row to be used for forcing, leaving permanent rows 
10 feet apart. At this distance the ground can be thor- 
oughly tilled, and abundant light, warmth and air will 
make strong crowns, so that an early crop of the first 
quality can be expected. Roots to be forced are placed 
in a pit under the benches and heated with hot water. 
They are placed on 2 inches of soil, and covered with 4 
to 5 inches to blanch the shoots. Cutting will be in order 
about 15 days after the roots are put in, and the same 
roots will produce profitable shoots for six weeks. As- 
paragus can be forced on greenhouse benches, in frames 
or in hotbeds, where the manure is not too fresh, so as to 
generate too much heat and steam. I have seen the 
best of ' grass ' grown in a common frame, with 18 
inches of leaves and manure to ferment and give heat, 
and a covering thrown over the frame at night. It should 
be remembered that asparagus starts with very little heat, 
45 degrees being sufficient to start it in the soil." 

Forcing in hotbeds. f — "A most suitable place for forc- 
ing asparagus is a frame about 4 feet deep, with one 4-inch 
hot-water pipe running around it. About 2^ feet of fresh 



*Garden and Forest, ii. 598 (Dec. 11, 1889). 

t William Scott in Garden and Forest, vii. 478 (Nov. 28, 1894). 



ASPARAGUS IN HOTBEDS. 



133 



stable litter should be put into the frame and firmly 
packed, with an inch or two of sand spread over it. This 
bed should be allowed to stand until the heat of the ma- 




43. Rhubarb ituder a forcing-house bench. 



nure has declined to about 70 degrees, and not below 65 
degrees, before the crowns are placed on it. For this 
work advantage should be taken of a day when the 
weather is mild, as the crowns are easily damaged by 
frost. Large crowns five or six years old are preferable 



134 ASPARAGUS AND RHUBARB. 

to smaller ones for forcing. They may be placed rather 
closely together in the frame, but the distance apart must 
be regulated by their size. The roots should be spread 
evenly over the surface and covered with 6 inches of 
sand. Little water will be required, as the steam from 
the manure affords considerable moisture, but if the bed 
should become dry it may be moistened with water of the 
same temperature as the soil in the frame. A little air 
may be admitted when the day is bright and warm, to 
keep the temperature from rising above 80 degrees. 
When the points of the shoots begin to appear above the 
sand the crop is ready to cut. Where ground is plentiful 
a supply of forcing crowns can be kept up by sowing a 
little seed every year, having five or six successions, tlie 
oldest plants being forced for cutting." 

RHUBARB. 

The forcing of pie-plant does not differ essentially from 
the forcing of asparagus. Thoroughly established clumps 
are dug in the fall, and these are packed in beds under- 
neath the benches, sifting the soil in tightly between the 
clumps, and then covering them with 2 to 6 inches of soil. 
The temperature should range as for lettuce or roses, or 
for very quick results it may be considerably higher. The 
length of time required for securing the saleable product 
is about the same as that required for asparagus, or per- 
haps a little longer. About four or five weeks after the 
planting under the benches is the usual time required for 
the first profitable cutting. Paragon and Linnaeus varie- 
ties may be used for the earliest results, but the best 
crops are to be obtained from some of the larger kinds, 
like Victoria and Mammoth. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



MISCELLANEOUS COOL PLANTS. 

PEA. 

Peas are very little known as a winter crop, although 
there is no particular difficulty in growing them. The 
yield is so small and the price so little that they are not 
often profitable, yet a few persons have found them to 
pay. They may be grown in narrow boxes (about 6 
inches wide and as many inches deep), and these boxes 
are then placed in odd or vacant places about the house. 
If the boxes are 3 feet or more in length, the soil can 
be kept in a uniform condition of moisture without great 
trouble. The boxes should be kept very cool for a 
time — not much above freezing, — but when the plants 
appear they may be given the temperature of lettuce or 
carnations. The greater yields are obtained from the 
pole varieties, but the earlier results from the dwarf va- 
rieties like American Wonder. 

Experiments at CornelL* — During the past few years, 
peas have at various times been grown in the forcing- 
houses at Cornell with the intention of determining their 
value as a commercial crop, and also to study their be- 
havior under glass. The forcing of peas has been car- 
ried on in northern Europe for many years, although on 
a somewhat different plan from that undertaken at this 
Station. Foreign gardeners generally grow the winter 



E. G. Lodeman, Bulletin 96, Cornell Exp. Sta, 

(135) 



136 MISCELLANEOUS COOL PLANTS. 

crop in frames or hotbeds. In the neighborhood of Paris 
such protection is unnecessary, and successive sowings 
are made in the open ground from November to March, 
one of the most popular varieties for this purpose being 
St. Catheruie {Pois de Sainte- Catherine). This variety is 
particularly well adapted to late fall and early winter 
sowings. In more northern latitudes, either coldframes or 
hotbeds supply the necessary protection for maturing the 
crop. Ringleader, Early Dwarf Frame, and Caractacus 
have been very popular in England. The second named 
variety is especially adapted for growing in hotbeds. It 
is exceedingly dwarf and matures very quickly, so that 
considerable quantities of peas may be harvested from a 
small area. Taller varieties are generally bent over to 
admit of their proper growth. 

Peas thrive in a cool temperature, and the protection 
afforded by comparatively little glass or wood is sufficient 
to carry them through moderately cold weather. In the 
northern states, artificial heat must be given if the crop 
is to be grown during the winter months. As this cannot 
be done conveniently in frames, larger structures must be 
employed, and these may easily be supplied with a 
proper amount of heat for growing this vegetable. A 
night temperature of 40° to 50°, and a day temperature 10 
to 20 degrees higher, will be sufficient to cause rapid 
growth and fairly prolific plants. Peas succeed best, as a 
rule, if grown in solid beds of rich, sandy soil that is well 
supplied with water. If peas grown under glass are sub- 
jected to the above conditions, their cultivation presents 
no serious difficulties, and it will scarcely be necessary 
to mention the details of more than one crop which 
we have grown. 

Seeds of two varieties of peas were sown January 6, 
1894 ; they were Extra Early Market and Rural New- 
Yorker. They were planted at the same depth as in 
outdoor culture, but the seed was sown more thickly, and 
the rows were as close to each other as the after culture 



PEAS IN WINTER. 



137 



^s- 




138 MISCELLANEOUS COOL PLANTS. 

of the crop would allow. Very dwarf varieties, such as 
Tom Thumb and American Wonder, may be planted in 
rows 3 to 5 inches apart, depending on the richness of 
the soil and the general care given the plants. Tall-grow- 
ing varieties, as Champion of England, may be sown in 
rows running in pairs, the distance between the rows of 
each pair being from 6 to 10 inches, while the pairs are 
separated by spaces 15 to 18 inches wide. This will 
allow working-room among the plants and still admit of 
heavy planting. 

One of the essential points in the successful growing 
of peas, whether in a greenhonse or out of doors, is the 
use of fresh seed. Garden peas retain their vitality from 
three to eight years, but the shorter period may be con- 
sidered as more nearly correct when applied to varieties 
which are to be forced, since the loss of a week or two 
under glass is expensive, and two sowings cannot well be 
afforded. The seedlings began to appear eight days after 
seed sowing and they grew vigorously from the start. 
February 23, Rural New-Yorker showed the first opened 
blossoms. Extra Early Market at the same time having 
buds which were about to open. 

On the 2oth of March, or about 73 days from sowing 
the seed, both varieties had matured sufficiently to supply 
pods that were fit for market, but no picking was made 
until II days later, when the plants yielded pods at the 
rate of 6)4 quarts for each 30 feet of double row. There 
was practically no difference between the two varieties as 
regards earliness or the amount of yield obtained. Two 
weeks later, a second and last picking was made, the 
plants yielding only one-half as much as before. This 
brings the total yield to a little over a peck. This is 
scarcely a profitable crop, especially since the varieties 
grown are quite tall, and required a trellis. 

Formerly, the trellises used consisted of branches 
forced into the ground so that they would afford support 
to the vines ; but with the crop here considered, a more 



PEAS AND CELERY. 139 

satisfactory trellis was made by using a wire netting hav- 
ing large meshes. This was fastened between the rows 
by means of stakes, and thus each strip of netting served 
as a support for a double row. This forms the neatest 
and most substantial trellis here used for supporting the 
vines. 

The yields from extremely dwarf varieties, such as 
Tom Thumb, have proved unsatisfactory. The plants re- 
quire no support, but they yield only one picking, and 
this is so light that their culture under glass cannot in 
all cases be advised. 

Peas grown under glass are sensitive to heat, and the 
warm spring days, when accompanied by sunshine, check 
their growth to a marked degree. The most healthy 
growth is made during the cold months of the year, and 
after April i not much should be expected from the 
vines unless steps are taken to keep the house as cool 
as possible. This may be accomplished by shading, and 
by a free use of water upon the walks of the house. 

From a financial standpoint, the growing of peas can 
scarcely be advised, but amateurs may derive much satis- 
faction from their cultivation, as the plants are easily 
grown, they require little care, and the quality of the 
•peas is especially appreciated when no fresh ones are 
on the market. 



CELERY. 

Celery practically goes out of the market in April. 
The stored crop is then exhausted, and until the earliest 
field product is received, in July, celery is not to be had. 
There should be some means of supplying the demand 
in May and June. Some three or four years ago, we 
turned our attention to this problem, and we now feel 
that it is a comparatively easy matter to grow celery for 
late spring and early summer use. 

We sow the seed in late fall or early winter, in flats 



140 



MISCELLANEOUS COOL PLANTS. 



or seed-pans. The young plants grow very slowly, and 
we make no effort to hasten them. About a month after 
the seeds are sown, the plants are pricked out into other 
flats, where they are allowed to stand 3 or 4 inches apart 
each way. A month or so later, they are transplanted 
into beds, following lettuce, cauliflower, chrysanthemums, 
or other crops. It will thus be seen that for two months 
or more the plants take up little or no room, for the flats 
are placed in vacant places here and there throughout the 
house, and they need little other care than watering. 
They should be kept cool — in a house used for lettuce, 
violets, carnations and the like — for if one attempts to 

force them they will likely 
run to seed. When the 
plants are finally trans- 
planted, we prefer to put 
them in solid beds with- 
out bottom heat. 

In six weeks to two months 
after the plants are turned into 
their permanent quarters they will 
be ready to bleach, and this opera- 
tion has caused us more trouble 
than all other difficulties combined. 
Our first thought was to set the 
plants very close together, so that 
they would bleach themselves, 
after the manner of the "New 
Celery Culture," but it would not 
work. The plants ran too much 
to foliage, and they tended to 
damp-off or rot where they 
were too close. We next 
tried darkening the house, 
but without success. We then attempted to bleach the 
plants by partially burying them in sand in a cellar, but 
this also failed. Finally, we tried various methods oi 




45- 



Winter celery in bleaching 
paper. 



CELERY AND SALADS. I4I 

tying up or enclosing each midwinter plant as it stood in 
the bed. Tiles placed about the plants — which are so 
successful in the field, — rotted the plants in the moist air 
of the forcing-house. Heavy bibulous paper did the 
same. But thick, hard wrapping paper, with an almost 
"sized" surface, proved to be an admirable success. 
The stalks were brought together and tied, and a width 
of paper reaching to within 2 or 3 inches of the tips 
of the leaves was rolled tightly about the plant. As 
the plant grew, another width of paper was rolled about 
the first, and again reaching nearly the top of the plant. 
Two applications of the paper are sufficient. A month to 
six weeks is required to bleach the celery by this process 
in a cool house in April and May. Fig. 45 (page 140) 
shows the method of bleaching with the paper. 

The seeds for one of our crops of house celery were 
sown December 10, 1894 ; pricked off, January 8 ; planted 
in beds, February 6 ; first tied up in paper, April 12 ; 
second tying, May 9 ; celery fit to use. May 21 to June 20. 
The Kalamazoo celery is well adapted to house cultiva- 
tion The quality of this house-grown product is equal to 
that grown in the field. 

SALADS, POT-HERBS, AND MINTS. 

Water-cress. — Persons who are fond of water-cress 
should know that no plant is easier to grow under 
benches in greenhouses. If there is an earth floor under 
the benches of a cool or intermediate house, the plant 
will take care of itself when once introduced, provided, 
of course, there is sufficient moisture. Fig. 46 (page 
142) shows a mat of water-cress growing under a bench 
in a general conservatory house, near the overflow of a 
tank. It is not necessary to supply water in which the 
plant may grow, but it thrives well, with its characteristic 
flavor, in soil which is simply uniformly moist and cool. 
The plants may be gathered from brooks or other places 



142 



MISCELLANEOUS COOL PLANTS. 







46. IVater-cress under a bench. 



where it is established, and planted at intervals under 
either north or south benches, and when once colonized 
_ it needs no re- 

newing. 

Garden - cress. 
— The ordinary 
French or g a r- 
den cress (varie- 
ties of Lepidiian 
sativum) also 
thrives well un- 
der glass. We 
have grown both 
the plain and 
curled - leaved 
forms upon 
benches or beds 
along with lettuce and spinach. The seed is sown di- 
rectly where the plants are to stand. The plant grows 
quickly, and the early, tender leaves should be used 
before it runs to seed. 

Parsley. — No vegetable is more readily grown in 
winter than parsley. The seed is sown in the open in 
spring, and the plants receive the ordinary care during 
the summer. In the fall, the strong roots are lifted and 
planted in a bed or bench in a lettuce house. The plants 
are headed down when transplanted, and the sunlight is 
kept off them for a few days until they are thoroughly 
established. After that, they need no extra or unusual 
care. Parsley will thrive well in the dark end of the 
house, or in almost any odd corner, as behind a door or 
in the shade next the wall. The plants should be re- 
newed each year. The most satisfactory variety is the 
Curled or Fern-leaved. 

Spinach was formerly grown in frames and hotbeds, 
and sometimes in glass houses, but the length of time re- 
quired to bring it to maturity, and the competition of the 



MUSTARD, DANDELION, AND MINTS. I43 

southern-grown product, make it unprofitable. Only now 
and then is a man found who is able to make frame- 
grown spinach pay. We have grown it in the forcing- 
house, and find that it forces readily with the same tem- 
perature and treatment which are given to lettuce. 

Mustard. — Any of the pot-herb mustards are easily 
grown in a lettuce or carnation house. One of the best 
types is the Chinese mustard. This makes an attractive 
edging to chrysanthemum or lily beds. The seeds are 
sown where the plants are to stand, although they may 
be sown in pots or flats and the plants transplanted to 
their permanent quarters. 

Dandelion. — This plant is grown somewhat extensively 
in the open in parts of the eastern states, particularly 
about Boston, for greens. It is also occasionally forced. 
Spring-sown plants are lifted in the fall and transplanted 
to a cool house. The leaves should be ready for cutting 
by the holidays. As soon as the cutting is completed, 
the crowns are thrown out and the bed or bench is used 
for other crops. The French improved varieties are the 
kinds of dandelions to be grown. The crop of these 
may be followed by lettuce. White Spine cucumbers or 
radishes. 

Mints of various kinds are readily grown in cool 
houses, such as are adapted to lettuce and violets. The 
species most commonly grown are sage and spearmint 
{Mefttha viridis), for which there is generally a good de- 
mand, in eastern cities, at Thanksgiving and Christmas. 
Sods of the sage or mint may be dug and placed directly 
in the house, care being taken to cut the sods very deep, 
and not to break them in the transfer. Better results are 
obtained, however, by planting the mint permanently in a 
solid bed, and covering it over with sash at forcing time. 
Heating pipes should be laid alongside the bed. From 
six to eight weeks are required to bring the mint to cut- 
ting size. 



144 MISCELLANEOUS COOL PLANTS. 

ONION. 

We have had good success in growing multipHer or 
potato onions under glass, planting them in a lettuce bed, 
where they will give bunch onions in six or seven weeks. 
In a warmer temperature, they become very strong in 
flavor. We have not been able to accomplish any useful 
results with onions from seeds, however, because they 
grow too slow and are not inclined to bottom. Neither 
have we succeeded with onions from sets, although we 
have given them a fair trial in different houses. The fol- 
lowing statements upon forcing onions from sets are by 
W. Van Fleet, of New Jersey, in answer to inquiries re- 
specting the forcing of bunch onions for winter market :* 

"Three or four inches is about as thick as they can be 
grown ; 3 x 6 is safer. If grown 3x4 inches, alternate rows 
may be taken out as soon as large enough for market. 
Use one-fourth to one-third rotted manure, the rest good, 
sandy garden loam or rotted sods ; 1-50 bone dust, or 1-150 
(in bulk) good fertilizer may be added after growth has 
begun. They can endure more cold than lettuce or rad- 
ishes, but are easily checked by low temperature when in 
full growth. Give them an average of 70° F. As the 
leaves do not cover the soil and prevent evaporation, there 
is little danger from over watering ; nevertheless, onions 
do not like sodden ground. Have the benches well 
drained ; water thoroughly, and let the top soil dry per- 
ceptibly before repeating. The quick-growing American 
varieties give best results ; Philadelphia, Silverskin and 
Yellow Globe Danvers are excellent. The sets should be 
carefully selected, of uniform shape, and less than one-half 
inch in diameter. Onions are rarely forced under glass 
now, and are of doubtful profit, owing to competition from 
the Egyptian and other hardy perennial onions, which grow 
throughout the winter in the south and are shipped to the 
northern markets as early as February. There is a possible 



•Rural New-Yorker, liii. 777 (December 8, 1894). 



ROOT CROPS UNDER GLASS 



145 



profit in growing the Egyptian onion under glass in cold 
localities, but I am not aware that it has been tried com- 
mercially. The bulblets, which form in place of seed, could 
be planted in flats of rich earth, 6 inches deep, well watered 
and attended to until freezing weather, when they could be 
covered thickly with straw until needed, or brought under 
glass at once. The after treatment would be similar, ex- 
cept that a temperature below 65° would prove most satis- 
factorv. ' ' 



BEETS, CARROTS, AND TURNIPS. 

The root crops grow readily in lettuce beds, but their 
commercial value is so 
small and the length 
of time required for 
their growth so great 
that they are rarely 
profitable. Beets are 
occasionally grown 
between the late win- 
ter crops of tomatoes 
or cucumbers. If the 
house has grown let- 
tuce or other cool 
crops, the beets may 
be transplanted into 
the beds in rows 
about 3 feet apart, 
setting the cucumber 
plants between the 
rows. The beets 

should be off by the 
time the other plants 
demand all the room. 
The turnip beets (like 
the Egyptian), half- 
long carrots and early varieties of turnips are the varieties 




4y. A bunch of winter carrots. 



146 MISCELLANEOUS COOL PLANTS. 

best adapted to forcing. Carrots are slowest to mature, 
and also find the smallest demand in the market. From 
three to four months are required to secure good bottoms 
on carrots. For home use these root crops may be grown 
in a few square feet of soil on benches which grow lettuce 
and carnations or even roses. 

POTATO. 

Potatoes can be grown on spent rose or lettuce beds, 
or under benches which open out to the light. We have 
grown a bushel of tubers in a thick row under the edge 
of a carnation bench some 40 feet long. They need no 
special care. Potatoes are sometimes planted in ground 
beds in forcing-houses in late winter or early spring after 
the legitimate winter crops are harvested. 

PEPINO. 

The pepino or melon shrub is practically unknown as a 
forcing-house product. The first critical study of the plant 
in this country was made at the Cornell Station in 1891, but 
Professor Munson, in Maine, seems to have been the first 
person to make a success of it as a fruit-bearing plant under 
glass.* The plant is an undershrub, making a neat and 
spreading bush 2 or 3 feet high when a year old. The fruits 
are oblong and somewhat egg-shaped, with a solid and seed- 
less flesh and a cantaloupe-like flavor. It more closely re- 
sembles the eggplant in botanical features than it does any 
other fruit plant of our gardens. It is propagated by cut- 
tings of the young shoots in the same way as the geranium 
or tomato. Cuttings made in March or April may be ex- 
pected to make fruit-bearing plants by the following January 
or February. The plants should be carried through the 
summer in 4-inch or 5-inch pots and transferred to 6-inch 
pots on the approach of winter. They should be grown in 



*W. M. Munson, in Garden and Forest, v. 173 (Apr. 13, 1892), with 
illustration. 



THE PEPINO OR NfELON SHRUB. I47 

a cool house, with no bottom heat. A lettuce house suits 
them well. In such temperature strong- plants may be 
expected to yield two or three fruits to each cluster. 

History and description of the pepino. — ^This interest- 
ing plant is so little known that I append a somewhat 
full account of it :"-'" 

Within the last few years a novelty has appeared in 
the seedsmen's catalogues under the name of Pepino, 
Melon Pear, Melon Shrub, and Solajiuni Giiatcuialcnsc. 
Its botanical affinities, as well as its horticultural merits, 
have been a perplexity. The plant is a strong-growing 
herb or half-shrub in this climate, becoming 2 or 3 feet 
high and as many broad. It has a clean and attractive 
foliage, comprised of long-lanceolate nearly smooth very 
dark green entire leaves. It is a profuse bloomer, the 
bright blue flowers reminding one of potato flowers. But 
one fruit commonly sets in each cluster, and as this grows 
the stem elongates until it reaches a length of from 4 to 
6 inches. The fruit itself is very handsome. As it ripens 
it assumes a warm yellow color, which is overlaid with 
streaks and veins of violet-purple. These fruits are some- 
what egg-shaped, conspicuously pointed, and vary from 
2>^ to 3>2 inches in length. The illustration, Fig. 48 
(page 148), shows an average specimen about two-thirds 
natural size. If the fruits are still green upon the ap- 
proach of frost, they may be placed in a cool dry room, 
where, in the course of two or three weeks, they will 
take on their handsome color. If carefully handled or 
wrapped in paper, the fruits will keep until midwinter or 
later. The fruit is pleasantly scented, and the flavor of 
it may be compared to that of a juicy, tender and some- 
what acid eggplant. It is eaten either raw or cooked. 

Upon the approach of winter we dig up some of the 
plants and remove them to the conservatory or forcing- 
house. As ornamental plants they will prove to be 



*Froni Bulletin 37 (Dec. 1S91). Cornell Exp. Sta. (now out of print). 
II FORC. 



148 



MISCELLANEOUS COOL PLANTS. 




48. Spray and fruit of the pepino. 



THE PEPINO. 149 

very useful in this latitude. The habit is attractive, the 
flowers bright and pleasant, and the fruit is highly orna- 
mental and curious. The plant will stand a little frost. 

The plant does not fruit freely with us, however, 
although it blooms profusely. We have endeavored to 
insure fruiting by hand pollination, but without success. 
The anthers give very little pollen. Perhaps half the 
plants succeed in setting two or three fruits apiece. All 
the fruits which we have raised have been entirely seed- 
less, and this appears to be the common experience. 
The seed-cavities remain, however, as shown in the cross- 
section in Fig. 48. The plant must be propagated by 
cuttings or layers, therefore. We obtained our stock 
from a botanical specimen which I obtained from Florida, 
and which was not thoroughly dried. 

This plant was introduced into the United States from 
Guatemala fn 1S82 by Gustav Eisen, of California.* 
There has been much speculation as to its nativity and 
its true botanical position. At first it was thought by 
some to be a variety of the eggplant,! but it is very dis- 
tinct from that species. But the plant is by no means a 
novelty to science nor even to cultivation, for it was ac- 
curately described and figured so early as 1714 by Feuillee 
in his account of travels in Peru. J He called it Melon- 
gena laurifolia. At that time the plant bore " several 
little lenticular seeds, one line broad." It was carefully 
cultivated in gardens, and the Indians ate it with delight. 
The taste is described as somewhat like a melon. Eat- 
ing too heartily of it w^as supposed to bring on fevers. In 
Lima it is called Pepo. In 1799 it was again described 
and figured by botanists visiting Peru, Ruiz and Pavon. || 
They described the fruit as "ovate, pointed, smooth and 
shining, white variegated with purple, hanging, of the 



*Orch. and Gard. x. 61 (1S88). 
fGard. Monthly, xxix. 24, 48, 84, 120, 355 (1887). 
JJourn. Obs. Phys. Math, et Bot. 735, t. 26. 
II Flora. Peruviana, ii. 32 t. 162 a. 



150 MISCELLANEOUS COOL PLANTS. 

shape of a lemon." They say that it was much cultivated 
in Peru, and added that it was propagated by means of 
cuttings. It was called " Pepino de la tierra," In 1785, 
Thouin, a noted French gardener, introduced it into 
Europe, and four years later Aiton, of the Royal Garden 
at Kew, England, named it So/auiaii jnuricafio)!.'^ The 
specific name, inuricatc or prickly, was giv^en in reference 
to the rough or warty character of the sprouts which 
spring from the root, and which are often used for propa- 
gation. And now, over a hundred years later, it has 
found its way to us. 

Mr. Eisen's account of the pepino will be interesting 
in this connection. "The Central American name of this 
plant," he writes, "is pepino. Under this name it is 
known everywhere in the Central American highlands, 
and under this name only. But as pepino in Spanish 
also means cucumber, it was thought best to give the 
plant an English name. I suggested the name melon 
shrub, but through the error or the wisdom of a printer 
the name was changed to melon pear, which I confess is 
not very appropriate, but still no less so than pear 
guava, alligator pear, rose apple, strawberry guava, 
mango apple, custard apple, etc. * ^" * As to the 
value of the fruit and the success of it in the states, only 
time will tell. The fact that I found the plant growing 
only on the high land, where the temperature in the shade 
seldom reaches 75° Fahr., suggested to me the proba- 
bility that it would fruit in a more northern latitude. In 
California it has proved a success in the cooler parts, 
such as in Los Angeles city, and in several places in the 
coast range, and will undoubtedly fruit in many other 
localities where it is not too hot. * ^ -^ My friend, 
the late Mr. J. Grelck, of Los Angeles, had a plantation 
of 10,000 pepinos, which grew and bore well, and he sold 
considerable fruit. ■^ * * In pulp and skin the pepino 

* Hort. Kew. i. 250. 



THE PEPINO. 151 

resembles somewhat the Bartlett pear, but in taste more 
a muskmelon ; but it has besides a most dehcious acid, 
entirely wanting in melons and quite peculiarly its own. 
In warm localities this acid does not develop, and this 
fact is the greatest drawback to the success of the fruit. 
The fruit has no seed, as a rule. And in all, I have 
found only a dozen seeds, and those in fruit which came 
from Salama in Guatemala, a place rather too warm to 
produce the finest quality of fruit. The botanical name 
of the pepino is not known to me with certainty. The 
same was described by the Franco-Guatemalan botanist, 
Mr. Rousignon, as Solannm Mclongena Giiatemaleuse, 
but it is to me quite evident that this solanum is not, 
nor is it closely related to the 5. Melongeua or eggplant, 
which latter is a native of Central Asia. The pepino is 
probably a native of the Central American highlands, and 
appears to have been cultivated by the Indians before the 
conquest by the Spaniards."* Last year Mr, Eisen writes 
that "it has only succeeded in Florida, but has there 
proved of considerable value, "f 

The greatest fault of the pepino appears to be its f^^iil- 
ure to set fruit. Mr. Eisen states that in Guatemala it 
"yields abundantly, in fact enormously, 100 to 150 fruits 
to a vine 4 feet in diameter being nothing uncommon. I 
have seen it yield similarly in California, but whenever 
exposed to too much heat and dryness, it is very slow to 
set fruit. "J He recommends that it be shaded if it re- 
fuses to set fruit. Martin Benson, Dade Co., Florida, 
writing to the American Garden, || says that he has had 
great success with it. "I counted the fruit on a medium- 
sized plant and found it bore 60 of all sizes, from those 
just set to some nearly matured and weighing upwards of 



*Gard. Monthly, xxix. 84 (1887). 
fGard. and Forest, iii. 471 (1890). 
JOrch. and Gard. x. 61 (1888). 
II ix. 265 (1888). 



152 MISCELLANEOUS COOL PLANTS. 

a pound. The fruit varies considerably, but averages 
about the size of a goose egg. The fruit is the most 
perfectly seedless of any I have ever seen, without a 
trace of a seed. It requires cool weather in order to set 
fruit, and never does so excepting a norther or other cool 
spell, when the fruit sets in great quantities." Mr. Ben- 
son's letter is accompanied by an admirable illustration of 
the fruit. In the northern states it has always proved a 
shy bearer, if I may judge from such records as exist. 
"D," writing to the Gardener's Monthly, says that he 
had "only about two pears to each plant, among literally 
hundreds of blossoms." Orchard and Garden com- 
ments upon this feature as follows: "The general ex- 
perience with it here [New Jersey], thus far, seems to 
justify us in calling it exceedingly shy in setting fruit, and 
if this tendency to abortive blooming cannot be over- 
come, the melon pear must be considered without practi- 
cal value." These remarks are certainly counter to the 
statements and pictures made by some seedsmen in re- 
gard to its productiveness. Professor Munson, as we 
have seen, has found it to be fairly productive under 
glass when grown in a low temperature. 



CHAPTER IX. 



TOMATO. 



Next to lettuce, the tomato is probably the most im- 
portant vegetable grown in American forcing-houses. Its 
only close competitor for this honor is the cucumber. 
Winter tomatoes always find a ready sale at prices rang- 
ing from 25 to 75 cents per pound. Even after the Florida 
tomatoes come upon the market in late winter, a good 
([uality of house-grown fruits continues to sell well in every 
good market. The crop is one which demands a high 
temperature, an abundance of sunlight, and great care in 
the growing, but the profits, under good management, are 
correspondingly high. 

The house. — A light and tight house is essential, and it 
must be high enough to allow of training the plants (ihi\t is, 
at least 5 feet above the soil in all parts). Our preference 
is a sash-bar frame house, something like those shown in 
Figs. 12 and 13. A north-and-south house would be pref- 
erable, probably, because of the more even distribution of 
light. Tomatoes may also be grown for a late spring crop 
in a carnation or lettuce house (see page 98). 

The importance of direct and strong sunlight was well 
illustrated in one of our experiments. At one end of the 
house is a low building which shaded a part of the plants 
after two or three o'clock. The plants within 3 or 4 feet 
of this building, which were thus deprived of direct sunlight 
for half the afternoon, bore no fruits whatever, although 
they were strong and vigorous. At 6 and 7 feet away some 

(153) 



154 TOMATO. 

fruits were borne, but it was not until about 15 or 20 feet 
from the building that a full crop was obtained. The ill 
effects of shade are also visible upon the north benches of 
houses running east and west, where the plants are shaded 
somewhat by those in the center of the house. During 
the middle of winter the north bench in the house will 
ordinarily produce no more than half as much fruit, even 
in an unequal-spanned house, as those in direct sunlight. 
The plants in partial shade grow as well and as large as 
those in full sun, and they often blossom well, but the 
fruit does not set. 

The proper temperature for tomatoes is from 60° to 65° 
at night, and 10° higher for dull days. On bright days' 
it may be allowed to run higher, although we always 
wish to ventilate at 75°, but a temperature of 90° or even 
100° can do no harm. Until fruit begins to set, the atmos- 
phere should be kept moist, especially on bright days, but 
the setting of the fruit is hindered by a humid atmosphere. 

Soil and fertilizers. — Nearly all writers upon house cul- 
tivation of tomatoes assert that the soil should be only 
moderately rich, because heavily manured plants are over- 
vigorous in growth, are generally unproductive, and are 
particularly liable to disease ; and the additional cost of 
training is said to be considerable. Our experience em- 
phatically contradicts this supposition. Heavily manured 
plants undoubtedly require more care in the pruning, and 
it is possible that when not properly handled they may be 
more liable to mildew, because of the dense and crowded 
growth ; but, on the other hand, we always get the best 
yield from the strongest plants, and we find the extra cost 
of training to be of little account. We grow the plants in 
rich garden loam, to which is added a fourth or fifth of its 
bulk of well-rotted manure, and when the plants begin to 
bear, liquid manure is applied nearly every week, or a top- 
dressing of manure is given. To those unaccustomed to 
forcing-house work this may seem extravagant fertilizing ; 
but it must be remembered that in house cultivation the 



RAISING TOMATO PLANTS. 



155 



roots are confined in a small space, and they have little 
chance to search for food. And as a matter of practice, 
we find this heavy manuring to be essential to best results. 
It is strange that the notion that tomatoes require a com- 
paratively poor soil should ever have become so widespread. 
It has been held also in regard to outdoor tomatoes, but 
our own experiments, and those of others, have shown that 
that it is generally erroneous (consult pages 53 to 61). 

Raising the plants, and bearing age. — Tomato plants 
are usually grown from seeds, l)ut sometimes from cuttings. 




49. Box cultivatwn of ivinter tomatoes. 



Seeds are sown in flats or jiots, and the plants are handled 
at least twice before they go into permanent quarters. Cut- 
tings are taken from strong, well-developed branches, and 
are made of the upper 4 or 5 inches of the shoot. Cutting- 
plants struck at the same time as seeds are sown will bear 
sooner than seedlings. Cutting-plants (if made from well- 



156 



TOMATO. 



matured shoots) generally bear nearer the ground tlian 
seedlings. Fig. 50 shows cutting-plants in bearing. 

In this latitude it requires from four to five months to 
bring a forced tomato plant into bearing. A few statis- 
tics will show the time required from seed to fruit. 
Seeds which were sown August 9 gave plants fit for 
transplanting early in September. These were planted in 
permanent quarters in the tomato house October 15, and 
the first fruits were obtained December 28. Thev con- 




So. Cutting-grown tomato plants in a shalfoiu bench. 



tinned in bearing until near the end of February, when 
they were trained for a second crop. Plants started No- 
vember 10 were transplanted into 4-inch pots December 
8, and from these pots into permanent quarters February 
25. The first fruits were picked May 6, and May 12 the 
first market picking was obtained. On the first of June 
they were in full bearing. It will be noticed that the sec- 



WHERE THE PLANTS ARE TO BE GROWN. 1 57 

ond lot grew much more slowly than the first one. This 
is because the plants were growing in the short and dull 
days of midwinter. Market growers like to sow seeds or 
take cuttings in August for the holiday crop. The second 
crop is ready to go on the benches early in January. A 
commercial grower in Ontario informs me that when he 
sows seeds the middle of January he expects to put the 
plants on the benches on the first of April and to make 
the first picking the 20th of May. 

Beds, benches and boxes. ^ — There are various methods 
of growing house tomatoes. Much depends upon the 
height of house and arrangement of benches and heating 
apparatus. They may be planted in the ground or floor 
of the house, but this is not advisable, as it does not allow 
of the application of bottom heat, and the plants grow 
slowly ; and it is frequently an advantage to shift the 
plants somewhat during subsequent treatment. They re- 
quire brisk bottom heat, and it is necessary, therefore, to 
place them upon benches. 

The plants may be grown in shallow beds upon the 
benches, or in boxes or pots. Many persons prefer to 
grow tomatoes in iS-inch-square boxes. Fig. 49 (page 155) 
shows the arrangement of such a tomato house. The re- 
turn pipes lie close upon the ground, and are covered with 
a low platform or bench, made of 3-inch slats with inch 
spaces between them. The boxes are placed 10 inches 
or a foot apart, and four plants are set in each of those 
which are 18 inches square and a foot deep. A plant, 
therefore, occupies about 1% square feet of floor space. 
We have grown them in lo-inch-square boxes, and also 
in lo-inch pots, but these dry out so quickly that we do 
not like them. One or two narrow cracks are left in the 
bottom. A good layer of potsherds or clinkers is placed 
in the bottom for drainage, and the box is then filled 
two-thirds full of soil. When the fruit begins to set, the 
box is nearly filled with rich soil and manure. The ob- 
ject of not filling the box at first is to confine the roots 



158 



TOMATO. 



in a smaller space, and therefore to hasten fruitfulness — 
perhaps an imaginary advantage — but more particularly 
to allow of an additional stimulus to be given the plant 
at fruiting time by the addition of fresh soil. 

On the whole, however, we prefer to grow tomatoes 
on benches, with about 7 or 8 inches of soil. Fig. 14 
shows tomatoes growing upon a floor which lies directly 
over the heater, a place which gives most excellent re- 
sults. In this bed we set the plants in rows 24 inches 
apart, and 18 inches apart in the row. This house is 




000 




5/. Forcing-house for tomatot's, heated unth zvater. 

very light. In darker houses the plants cannot be set so 
close. Fig. 50 (page 156) shows a bed 3 feet wide (and 
only 4 inches deep) in which but a single row of plants is 
grown. We have grown an excellent crop of tomatoes 
on a bean bench, from which three crops of beans had 
been taken during the winter. After each crop of beans, 
the soil was loosened up and manure or manure water 
added if needed. The soil was again manured before 
the tomatoes were set. The bed is 6 inches deep. Upon 
this bed the plants were set 2 feet apart each way, and 
each plant was trained to two shoots. We sometimes 
carry a late crop of tomatoes upon benches which grow 
peas and lettuce during the winter. Such houses are not 



BENCHES VS. BOXES. 



159 



warm and light enough for winter tomatoes, but a crop 
may be had by late May or June. 

In comparing- benches and boxes, Munson* obtained 
the better results from the latter. The experiments were 
made in a broken-span house (Fig. 51, page 158) " 20x50 
feet, and about 11 feet high at the ridge. The central 
bed is supplied" with six 2-inch hot water pipes, the flow 
being carried overhead to the further end of the house. 
Each year a dozen or more plants of each of several 
varieties have been grown in boxes, while duplicate lots 
have been grown in open beds. These beds were lYz to 
3 feet wide and 8 inches deep. They were built across 
the central bench, and thus received the same bottom 
heat as the boxes." "In almost every instance the better 
results were obtained from the boxes. With one or two 
exceptions, the first fruits were matured from one to thir- 
teen days earlier ; the weight of the crop was greater, 
and the individual fruits averaged larger. The average 
results for the whole time may be summarized as follows : " 



Varieties and treatment. 



Golden Queen- 
Box . . . . 
Bed ... . 

Ithaca — 

Box . . . . 
Bed ... . 

Long Keeper— 
Box . . . , 
Bed ... , 

Lorillard — 
Box . . . , 
Bed ... , 



^ 


jj — ■ 


5 "> 




u. 1 


^.>s 


^ 


-o 


J a 




Wu 


V- 


> o>i: 


<; 


I.S4 


3-0 


I-3I 


2.2 



1-73 
I-5I 



2.01 
1. 19 



1-54 
1.08 



3-0 

2.3 



2.3 
2.0 



*Rept. of Maine Exp. Sta. for 1894. 



i6o 



TOMATO. 




52. A single-stem tomato plant. 



Training . — The plants 
must be trained. For 
midwinter, when it is 
necessary to economize 
siinHght, I much prefer to 
train plants to a single 
stem. Strong flax cord, 
the size of wool twine, is 
used for support. A 
single strand runs per- 
pendicularly from each 
plant to a horizontal wire 
or rafter extending length- 
wise the house under the 
roof. The plant is se- 
cured loosely to this sup- 
port at intervals of a foot 
or so by means of some 
broad and soft cord, as 
bass or raffia. Fig. 49 
( page 155 ) shows the 
young p 1 a n t s being 
trained, and Fig. 52 shows 
a mature vine supported 
by the cord. All side 
shoots are pinched off as 
soon as they appear, and 
the leader is "stopped" 
or pinched off as soon as 
it reaches the glass, or 
sometimes when fruits be- 
gin to form. In houses 
of sufficient height, I like 
to train the plants fully 6 
feet high. In midwinter 
it may be necessary to 
cut away some of the 



TRAINING AND WATERING. l6l 

older leaves or to cut them in two near the middle in 
order to let in light. As the fruit sets the leaves near the 
base of the plant begin to die, and they should be picked 
off. Healthy plants in full bearing are often bare of 
leaves for the first 2 feet. The fruit is borne on one side 
of the stem, and it is a common notion that the plants 
must be so placed that this side of the stem shall be 
toward the sun. This precaution is entirely unnecessary. 

When the plants are set in benches, at distances of 2 
or 3 feet, two or three shoots may be trained out upon 
diverging strings, in fan-shaped fashion. If the fan stands 
north and south it will probably interfere least with the 
light. Tomatoes are sometimes trained along under the 
roof as rafter plants, but this system is not adapted to 
commercial purposes, as it darkens the house so much 
that few plants can be grow^n, and the rafter plants are 
likely to suffer from cold. 

As soon as the fruit becomes heavy the largest clusters 
will need to be h'^ld up. A sling of raffia is caught over 
a joint of the }ilant and is passed under the middle of the 
cluster, as seen in F'ig. 52 (at a, b, c, page 160), which 
shows the bearing portion of a good average plant. 

Upon very strong vines the clusters sometimes 
"break," or push out a shoot from the end. This shoot 
should be cut off. Tomatoes upon clusters where this 
abnormal shoot was allowed to grow were generally 
smaller and more irregular than upon clipped shoots. 

Watering. — During all the early growth of the plant 
the atmosphere may be kept moist, particularly in sunny 
days, when it is customary to wet down the walks. Care 
must be taken in watering. It is best to soak the soil 
pretty thoroughly at each watering, yet it should not be 
drenched. Careless watering usually leaves the surface 
wet, while the under soil remains dry. This must be 
avoided. In midwinter we water our plants thoroughly 
about twice a week, giving no water directly to them be- 
tween times. If the red spider should attack the plants, 



l62 TOMATO. 

the atmosphere must be kept moist, and in bad attacks 
the foHage should be syringed. Every care should be 
taken to keep the plants free from the spider, for the pest 
cannot well be overcome after the fruit begins to set, at 
which time the house should be kept dry. If fungi begin 
to attack the plants, however, the atmosphere will need to 
be kept drier. 

Pollination. — When the flowers begin to appear, the 
atmosphere must be kept dry during the brighter part of 
the day in order to facilitate pollination. The pollen is 
discharged most profusely in dry, sunny days. In the 
short, dull days of midwinter, some artificial aid must be 
given the flowers to enable them to set. The common 
practice is to tap the plants sharply several times during 
the middle of the day with a padded stick. This practice 
is perhaps better than nothing, although tests which we 
once made upon the value of this operation as compared 
with no attention were entirely indifferent in results. 
During the past winter (1895-6) we tested the value of 
this jarring with the transfer of pollen by hand, and ob- 
tained more fruits from the jarring method, but their total 
weight was much less. I am strongly of the opinion that 
it will pay the commercial grower to transfer the pollen 
by hand during midwinter. At this season the flowers 
are most likely to fail and the product is the most valu- 
able ; and the tests which I am about to report concerning 
the influences of different quantities of pollen strengthen 
this advice. There are various methods of pollinating the 
flowers. The most expeditious and satisfactory method 
which I know is to knock the pollen from the flowers, 

catching 
it in a 




spoon, 

Sj. Ladle for pollinating ho2ise tomatoes. Wa tc U- 

glass, or 
other receptacle, and then dipping the stigmas of the 
same or other flowers into it. A good implement is 



POLLINATION OF TOMATOES. 163 

shown in Fig. 53 (page 162). This is made by gkieing a 
small watch-glass to the end of a wooden ladle. There is 
a time in the life of the flower when the pollen falls out 
readily if the atmosphere is dry enough to hold dust. 
This is when the flower is fully expanded and somewhat 
past its prime. The flower is tapped lightly with a lead 
pencil and the light yellow powder falls out freely. The 
house must be dry and warm at the time. C, J. Pen- 
nock, Kennett Square, Penn., a grower of winter to- 
matoes for market, writes me as follows concerning the 
pollination of the flowers: "During the short days of 
winter I pollinate carefully every day, and I consider the 
operation necessary. I use a tool of my own make. It 
is a light piece of wood about 16 in. long and one-half 
in, square, one end of which has a slight saucer-like de- 
pression. This stick is held in the left hand with the de- 
pression under the blossom to be pollinated. Another 
light stick or reed is used to tap the blossom and shake 
out the pollen, the end of the pistil being pressed into 
the accumulated pollen in the depression at the same 
time. On a sunny day, when the house is dry, the opera- 
tion can be performed rapidly. I have tried jarring the 
plants and have seen a brush used, but do not consider 
either as good as the above method." In the brighter 
days of March and later I have found no other attention 
necessary than keeping the house dry at midday. 

But there appears to be further reason why hand pol- 
lination is profitable. In my earliest 
experiences in tomato forcing I was 
impressed with the fact that indoor 
tomatoes are smaller than those grown 
out of doors, and the midwinter fruits 
are usually smaller than those pro- 
duced under the same circumstances 
in late spring. There is also a j^. Onesided tomato. 
marked tendency in house tomatoes to be one-sided, as 
indicated in Fig. 54. It was a long time before any 

12 FORC. 




i64 



TOMATO 



reason for these facts suggested itself. I finally came to 
feel that this irregularity and perhaps the smallness were 
often due to irregular or insufficient pollination, although 
it is probably true that lack of sunlight has something to 
do with the inferior size. The first definite aid towards the 
solution of the problem was the result of an experiment 
performed by my former assistant, W. M, Munson.* Mr. 
Munson pollinated two fruits upon the same cluster with 
pollen from one source, but in one flower very little pol- 
len was used, and it was applied ui:)on one side of the 




55. The effects of much and little pollen. 



stigma only, while the other flower received an abun- 
dance of pollen over the whole surface of the stigma. The 
result is shown in Figs. 55 to 57 (pages 164 and 165). In 
Fig. 55, the large fruit received the more pollen, and it is 
fully four times as large as the other, which received a 
very small amount. Moreover, the large fruit was practi- 
cally symmetrical, while the small one was one-sided. 
Figs. 56 and 57 (page 165) show cross sections of these 



*A report of fuller studies in this direction by Professor Munson 
may be found in the Annual Report of the Maine Experiment Station 
for 1S92, Part ii. 



EFFECTS OF POLLINATION. 



165 



fruits. The larger fruit (Fig. 56) has all the cells de- 
veloped and seed-bearing, while the smaller one (Fig. 57 
has seeds upon one side 
only, and the other or un- 
fertilized side is seedless 
and nearly solid. The 
original central division of 
this fruit is shown at a b. 
This experiment has been 
repeated several times with 
substantially the same re- 
sults. The flowers, of 
course, were emasculated 
in the bud, and were se- 
curely covered with bags 
to prevent any interference. 




56. 



Effects of liberal supply of 
polleti. 



Four important lessons are to be drawn from these 
experiments: i. One-sidedness appears to be due to a 
greater development of seeds upon the large side.* 
2. This development of seeds is apparently due to the 
application of the greater part of the pollen to that side. 
3. An abundance of pollen applied 
over the entire stigmatic surface, by 
increasing the number of seeds in- 
creases the size of the fruit. 4. The 
pollen, either directly or indirectly, 
probably stimulates the growth of 
the fruit beyond the mere influence 
of the number of seeds ; the growth 
of the solid part in Fig. 57 appears 
to indicate this. This secondary in- 
fluence of the pollen in increasing the size of fruits, both 
by means of increasing the number of seeds — which nec- 
essarily demand a larger envelope or receptacle — and 




5j. Effects of scanty 
supply of polle7i. 



*For similar results in the pollination of apples, see Bull. 31, Mich. 
Agr. Coll. 91 (1887). 



l66 TOMATO. 

by some stimulating influence which it may have upon 
the pericarp itself, is well known as a scientific fact. If 
I have interpreted these experiments correctly, they mean 
that a part, at least, of the smallness and perhaps all of 
the one-sidedness of house tomatoes are due to insuffi- 
cient pollination, and that it will pay the grower in mid- 
winter to pollinate by hand and to exercise pains to ap- 
ply an abundance of pollen over the whole surface of the 
stigma. This conclusion is further emphasized by the ex- 
periment which I have already reported (page 162), in 
which the fruits upon jarred plants (and which undoubt- 
edly received comparatively little pollen) were smaller 
than those which were hand-pollinated. It is possible 
that the same principle can be applied to some other 
fruits, and our experiments with other plants in this di- 
rection have already been considerable. 

The development of the hard and seedless part of the 
small tomato (Fig. 57) is perhaps the most interesting 
feature of the experiment from a scientific point of view. 
This part must have developed because of some entirely 
secondary stimulus of the pollen upon the pericarp, or 
else because of the stimulus afforded by the growth of 
the seeds in the other half; if neither of these proposi- 
tions is true, it must follow that seedless tomato fruits 
may develop without any aid of pollination whatever. 
In any case, the query is raised if it will ever be possi- 
ble to grow perfectly seedless tomatoes. We have al- 
ready grown them, but can make no definite report 
upon the subject. 

Second crop. — The crop from the one or two or three 
trained shoots of house tomatoes does not exhaust the 
vitality of the plant ; consequently when the crop is well 
along, one or two new shoots may be trained out from 
near the base of the plant to produce a second crop. If 
the plant is carrying a load of fruit when these second 
shoots are being trained, liquid manure should be given 
once or twice a week, or a fresh mulch of old manure 



THE SECOND CROP. 167 

may be added. In the dark days of midwinter there may 
not be enough Hght to make these new shoots strong in 
such close planting as we practice, and it is better, there- 
fore, to delay starting them until the fruit from the first 
crop is nearly all full grown. But in late February and 
March the new shoots may be allowed to become 3 
or 4 feet long before the old shoots are cut down. Of 
course, much will depend upon the distance at which the 
plants are set, the lightness of the house, and the fertility 
of the soil. Shoots which were about a foot long when 
the old tops were cut down the first of March gave ripe 
fruits the first and second weeks in May. We have 
noticed that strong and stocky shoots from 6 inches to 
a foot long give fruits about as early as weak and slen- 
der shoots 3 and 4 feet long, and they make better 
plants. With judicious treatment, the second crop can 
be made to follow the first with an interval of four to six 
weeks only, although this is difficult with the close plant- 
ing which we have employed. One shoot may be trained 
out from each plant to take the place of the old top, or 
two shoots may be allowed to grow and some of the old 
plants cut out entirely. The advantages of either prac- 
tice are about equal in the box system of growing. Mr. 
Pennock trains his plants to a single stem for winter 
bearing. For later fruiting, he trains out two or three 
shoots from each plant. But Mr. Pennock grows his 
plants in beds or benches and sets them 2x2^ feet.- 
In any case, each of the second shoots should bear as 
much as the first one did, and usually more, because of 
the greater. amount of sunlight later in the season. The 
old top is cut off an inch or so above the junction of the 
new shoot. 

Another method of obtaining the second crop is to 
bury the old plants. As soon as the fruit is off, the soil 
is removed between the plants, and the stems, deprived 
of lower leaves, are coiled down into the hole until only 
a foot or so of the tip projects. The earth is then filled 



l68 TOMATO. 

in over the plants, and the tip grows the same as a 
young plant. We have not found this method quite so 
satisfactory as the training out of new shoots. The yield 
has not been quite so heavy as from single second shoots, 
although fruits were obtained fully as early as from shoots 
which were a foot long when the test was started. But 
it is a somewhat laborious operation, and some of the 
stiffer plants are apt to be cracked in the handling ; and 
in box culture it is necessary to pull out one or two of 
the four plants in order to make room for the operation. 
A third way of obtaining the second crop is by means 
of new seedling plants. This is the common method. 
Plants are started from seeds two or three months be- 
forehand, and are transplanted two or three times into 
pots. At the final shifting they are taken from 4- or 5- 
inch pots and placed in permanent quarters. At this 
time they should be from 18 inches to 2 feet high, or 
ready for the first tying up. We find that seedlings will 
bear about the same time and to the same extent as 
sprouts which are of equal length to begin with. The 
preference would seem to be, therefore, for sprouts, as they 
avoid the previous labor of sowing and handling ; and 
the seedlings take up valuable room while growing. But 
accidents are likely to occur to the old plants ; and an ad- 
vantage which seedling plants have over sprouts lies in 
the complete change of soil which is possible when seed- 
lings are grown. 

An experiment made (in boxes) at Cornell (in mid- 
winter) upon the comparative merits of seedling, buried 
and sprout-made plants (one sprout being allowed to grow 
from the stump of the old plant) gave the following data : 

Average yield from seedlings 9 fruits per plant. 

" " " buried plants 7 " " " 

" " " sprouts 9.2 " " " 

Highest production in seedlings 13.5 " " 

" " " buried plants . . . . 11. 5 " " " 

'" " " sprouts 13.5 " 

This test showed that the seedlings and sprout-made 



YIELDS OF TOMATOES. 169 

plants were of equal value, but the buried plants were 
distinct!}' inferior. It should be said, however, that such 
tests are of comparatively little value, because the merits 
of the buried and sprout-made plants depend very much 
upon the vigor and healthfulness of the parent plants. 
As a result of several years' experience, we now habit- 
ually grow our tomato plants from seeds. 

Yields and prices. — It will be seen from the foregoing 
discussion that any statement of the yield per plant of 
house tomatoes must be utterly valueless unless the 
method of training is given. The yield from two- 
stemmed plants may be twice as great as that from 
single-stem training, and the yield from double cropping 
of one plant will be from two to four times as much as 
from a single crop ; and much will depend upon the time 
of year. Some of the reports which have been made of 
enormous yields must be untrue. The true way to esti- 
mate yield is by the amount of floor space covered. 

In our experience we obtain from 1% lbs. to 2 lbs, 
per stem (or plant) in midwinter, and about twice to three 
times as much in spring, or an average of 3 lbs. or more 
for the season. This amount is produced on i^ to 2 sq. 
ft. of soil. INIr. Pennock obtains from 8 lbs. to 10 lbs. 
to the plant for the season, but his plants cover 5 sq. ft. 
The practical results of the two systems are therefore 
about the same — about 2 pounds to the square foot;* 
but the uniform single-stem system has some advantages 
in ease of manipulation, and the plants are so numerous 
that the loss of one by any accident is not so serious as in 
the other case. It should be said that the reported yields 
of house tomatoes are usually made from the spring crop, 
not from the winter crop. A winter crop, to be profit- 
able, should average at least 2 lbs. to the plant, in close 
planting and single-stem training, and a spring crop 



* This is over three times the yield per square foot in field culture 
in this latitude. 



lyo TOMATO. 

should average 4 lbs. to the plant. In a good crop of 
tomatoes, the fruits should average about three to a 
cluster in winter, and about four or five in spring. Fig. 
58 (page 171) shows a good cluster of forced tomatoes. 

We have made experiments to determine if the second 
crop from the plant is influenced by the amount of the 
first crop. The tests were made with both buried and 
sprout plants. For one series we used the plants which 
bore the heaviest midwinter crop, and for the other those 
which stood in partial shade and had borne nothing. 
The results show that the first crop did not influence the 
bearing capacity of the second stage so long as the parent 
plants remained healthy. And they also show that 
amount of crop is not a fixed trait of the individual 
plant; /. «f., a plant which bears little at first may bear 
heavily the second time, and z'ice zwrsa. 

The actual figures of yields and prices of commercial 
growers of forced tomatoes will be helpful. In a certain 
crop of Lorillard tomatoes, 673 plants, the total pickings 
were as follows : 

For March 15 Ihc. 

" April 7S3 " 

" May 862 " 

" June 905 " 

" July 338 " 

2.9^3 " 

This is is an average of 4.3 lbs. per plant. This is a 
large average yield. In midwinter, the crop could not be 
expected to be much more than half this amount. These 
plants were trained to a single stem. 

Following are extracts from the letters of four 
growers : 

"We set our plants about 2x2^ ft. One house, 112 ft. 
long by 23 ft. wide, had 8 rows of plants and about 54 
per row, and yielded over 4,000 lbs. of fruit from De- 
cember 20 to July I. My recollection is that you grew 
much closer together and had about the same yield per 



A TOMATO CLUSTER. 



171 




S'^'- A cluster oT forced Tjnillnyil t,n„nf,^ /-..^,.//,,-,.,/p «^y.,.,„7 



172 TOMATO. 

sq. ft., and thought it a safer plan, as a dead plant meant 
less loss. My judgment would be that your plan would 
require much more labor in setting and caring for the 
plants, and in practice we rarely lost a plant. When I 
commenced forcing' tomatoes I found that the price was 
extremely low until the last of December, but now the 
price is good in November. Prices have varied in the 
past two years from 7 cts. to 50 cts. per lb. An aver- 
age price during December, January, February and 
March has been about 30 cts. to 35 cts., I think." 

"We plant our benches with tomatoes from 3-in. pots 
along in January and February as carnation stock is 
ready, growing them along at carnation temperature until 
we have taken off the last crop of carnation cuttings ; 
then we give a little more heat, and have a crop of to- 
matoes about the last of May, through June, and have 
them all off early in July. We have generally had an 
average of 6 to 6% lbs. per plant. There is much varia- 
tion in average price, according to time we get the main 
crop on, from, I suppose, 10 cts. to 15 cts. per lb." 

"Our experience with tomatoes extends only with one 
house and for one season. They were in for six months 
and one week. We sold 2,669 ^^s. ; gross receipts, 
I598.72, or an average of 22}4 cts. per lb. ; variety, 
Lorillard ; house, 100x20 ft." 

"We grow tomatoes only as a second crop in spring, 
bringing them in about the first of May and continuing 
through June. From two houses (20x115 ft. and 
20x100 ft.) we picked 3,500 lbs. of fruit, which brought 
an average price of 12 cents per pound," 

Varieties. — We have forced Dwarf Champion, Loril- 
lard, Ignotum, Ithaca, Golden Queen, Golden Sunrise, 
Volunteer, Beauty, Potato Leaf, and others. Of these, 
the Dwarf Champion is least satisfactory. It does not 
grow high or free enough to allow of convenient train- 
ing, and the fruit is small and ripens slowly. Among 



VARIETIES OF TOMATOES. I73 

the others there is Httle choice. Perhaps the Ithaca is 
the least desirable of the remaining; ones, because of its 
irregularity. But I cannot look upon the irregularity of 
house tomatoes as wholly a varietal character. All to- 
matoes, apparently, tend to be more irregular indoors 
than out, a tendency for which I can not yet give any 
sufficient reason. The form seems to vary somewhat in 
the same variety at different times, and it is probably 
closely associated with the moisture of the soil and the 
incidental treatment of the plants. The Ignotum seemed 
to be somewhat more irregular in the house the first 
winter than the second. Lorillard and Ignotum seem 
to hold the first place among the varieties which we have 
tried, although Volunteer is scarcely inferior. The Golden 
Queen is perhaps the best yellow. Yellow tomatoes are 
in little demand, but a few plants may prove profitable 
from which to sell fruits to those who desire to make 
table decorations. If we could have but one variety, we 
would choose the Lorillard. 

Munson makes the following comments upon varie- 
ties :* " Some varieties seem specially adapted for cul- 
ture under glass, while others fail to give satisfactory re- 
sults. Why this is so we do not know ; but for the pur- 
pose of determining the most promising, we have grown 
several of the best known varieties for several seasons. 
Naturally, as the days grow longer in April and May the 
fruit will be of larger size and the product per plant will 
be greater than is the case with the first crop — in Jan- 
uary and February. The figures given below represent 
the average results obtained, including both crops, for 
several seasons. Several other varieties — including Ig- 
notum, Perfection, Peach, Prelude, Dwarf Champion, etc. 
— have been grown, but those named in the table have 
proved most satisfactory : 



Rept. Maine Exp. Sta. for 1894. 



174 



TOMATO. 



Variety, 



Chemin Market 
Golden Queen 
Ithaca .... 
Long Keeper 
Lorillard . . . 
Optimus . . . 



Average 

number 

fruits per 

plant. 



12 
12 

II 

10 

13 
13 



Average 

weight of 

product — 

lbs. 



2.29 
2.22 
1.69 
1. 86 
2.05 
1.96 



Average 
weight of 
individual 

fruits — 
ozs. 



3-0 

3-8 
2.5 
3-0 
2.7 
2.5 



"The ideal tomato for forcing should be of medium 
size — about 2^4 ounces preferred — and should be uni- 
form, smooth, regular, and of tirm texture. All things 
considered, Lorillard answers these requirements more 
completely than any other sort we have grown ; though 
Optimus has usually done well. Chemin Market is very 
attractive in appearance, and is of good size, but it 
lacks solidity. 

"No collection is complete without a few plants of 
Golden Queen. This is especially valuable for the 
pleasing contrast when served with the red or purple 
fruits. 

"There is a marked difference in the adaptability of 
varieties for house culture, among the best of those tried 
being Lorillard, Optimus, Chemin, Golden Queen, Ithaca 
and Long Keeper. 

"All things considered, the Lorillard has proved the 
most satisfactory tomato for forcing." 

Marketing. — The tomatoes are usually marketed in 
small splint baskets holding from 4 to 10 pounds of 
fruit. Each fruit is wrapped in tissue paper, and if to 
be shipped by rail, the baskets should be lined with 
rolled cotton. In midwinter an average price of 40 cents 
a pound should be remunerative ; in spring and fall 25 
cents a pound should pay. In midwinter our fruits aver- 
age from 2 ozs. to 2j< ozs. each, but in late INIarch and 



THE MARKETING OF TOMATOES. 175 

April the average will rise to 3 ounces and more. 
In May, well pollinated fruits often weigh 7 or 8 ounces. 
The weight of the best fruits is often increased by cut- 
ting off the smallest and most irregular ones. The larg- 
est forced tomato which I have ever seen was grown 
by John Kerman, Grimsby, Ontario. It w^eighed 24^^ 
ounces. It was an Ignotum, and was picked in June. 
Mr. Kerman reports* another fruit of the same crop 
which weighed '2']]A ounces. 

A grower of house tomatoes gives me a description 
of his method of marketing: "In shipping I use small 
packages. The flat-bottomed splint basket, holding about 
8 qts., w^ith handle, is excellent, and can be bought for 
|6 or less per gross. They hold 10 lbs. each. In 
packing, line the basket with at least two thicknesses of 
medium-weight wrapping paper, turning down the cor- 
ners even with the top of the basket, or have it cut to 
exactly fit. Newspapers can be used, but are not so 
neat. Two inches of excelsior shavings is placed in the 
basket after being lined with the paper. The tomatoes 
are wrapped singly in tissue paper, cut by manufacturers 
in convenient sizes, two sizes being sufficient. Two lay- 
ers of tomatoes are packed in each basket, with a layer 
of excelsior between each layer and on top of the upper 
layer. I have found these baskets to hold just 10 lbs. 
of tomatoes without undue crowding or rubbing the side 
of the basket. The grower's name and net weight of 
tomatoes should be placed, by means of a neat label, 
inside of the basket, and the basket wrapped in paper, 
all tied securely and neatly, with label on outside for 
shipping direction, to include consignor's name, and 
grade and weight of package. The tomatoes should be 
sorted into at least three grades — firsts or choice, sec- 
onds, and culls." 

Animal parasites. — A white scale {Aleyrodes vapor- 



''^ Canadian Horticulturist, xix. 260 (August, 1896.) 



176 



TOMATO. 



ariorimi) is a common pest here on tomatoes. The im- 
perfect insect is a small white scale-like body, preying 
upon the under surface of the leaves, and the mature 
form is a minute fly-like insect which flies about the 
house. It can be kept in check by fumigating with to- 
bacco smoke. 

A much more serious pest is a small spotted mite, 
scarcely larger than the red spider ( Tetranychus bimacu- 
latiis, of Harvey). The mites feed upon the under sides 
of the leaves, causing the upper surfaces to appear 
speckled with white, as shown in Fig. 59. They attack 

many plants, but to- 
matoes and cucum- 
bers are favorites. 
We have tried num- 
bers of remedies with 
great thoroughness, 
but the first way we 
discovered of keep- 
ing them in check 
was to syringe with 
water so forcibly 
once or twice a day as to knock them off". By the time 
they were fairly resettled on the plants we would knock 
them off" again. By this alternating warfare, aided by 
picking and burning the worst leaves, we kept our plants 
in tolerable order. Later,- however, we have found that 
Hughes' fir-tree oil is fatal to them, as also to all kinds 
of lice and scales. For the mites, we use a half pint of 
oil to two gallons of water, and the material may be ap- 
plied with a syringe or knapsack pump. In more recent 
experience, we have not had so good success with this 
oil. We now keep them in check by exercising every 
care to have the house free of the pests before setting 
in the plants, and by spraying the leaves (particularly 
beneath) with a fine nozzle every bright morning. If 
the mites once get a thorough foothold upon a plant 




59. Work of the mite. 



DISEASES OF HOUSE TOMATOES. 



177 



it is almost impossible to thoroughly eradicate them. 

The root-gall, caused by a nematode worm {Hetero- 
dera radicico/a), often does great damage in tomato 
houses (Fig. 29, page 87). The treatment is to use only 
soil which has been thoroughly frozen, as explained on 
page 85. After cleaning the benches of infected soil, it is 
well to wash them in strong lye.* 

Diseases. — We have had serious difficulty with dis- 
eases. The rot of the fruit has been one of the worst, 
and this has appeared chiefly upon the first fruits. This 
disease appears to originate as a physiological trouble (not 
from the attacks of fungi, as commonly supposed), and the 
proper treatment is to keep the house dry and sweet. 

The to- 
mato blight 
or rust ( da- 
dos por in ni 
fulvuni) \ s 
frequent i n 
tomato 
houses, par- 
ticularly to- 
w a r d s 
spring. Fig. 
60 shows the 
patches o f 

the fungus at the points marked a. It causes rusty patches 
upon the leaf, and the foliage soon shrivels and dies. It 
is very likely that the disease may be brought into the 
house in soil upon which diseased plants have been 
grown. If it appears, the plants should be thoroughly 
sprayed at once with Bordeaux mixture. 

The dropsy or oedema of the tomato is a physiologi- 
cal disease produced in house tomatoes by a too succu- 




60. Tomato blight (Cladosporiiim fulvum). 



* For a fuller account of the root-gall on house tomatoes, see Bulle- 
tin 43, Cornell Exp. Sta. (Sept. 1892). 



178 



TOMATO. 



lent growth consequent upon a dark house, over-watering, 
and unskillful attention to ventilation. Outgrowths or 
swellings closely resembling fungous infections appear 
upon the leaves and stems, and the leaves finally curl 
up (Fig. 61). This trouble has been made the subject of 
a special study by Atkinson,* whose "summary for 
practical purposes" is as follows: 

"The cedema of the tomato is a swellino: of certain 




61. Gidema of the tomato. 

parts of the plant brought about by an excess of water 
which stretches the cell walls, making them very thin and 
the cells very large. The excess of water may be so 
great that the cell walls break down, and that part of the 
plant dying, exerts an injurious influence in adjacent parts. 

"The excess of water in the tissues is favored by the 
following conditions : 

" I, Insufficient light. The long nights of the early 
winter months, numerous cloudy days, and in part, the 
walls and framing of the forcing-house, deprive the plants 



♦BuUttin 53, Cornell Exp. Sta. (May, 1893). 



DROPSY OF TOMATO. 1 79 

of needed light. By a process known as transpiration, 
plants are relieved of much water when well lighted, 
but in poor light, since the roots are absorbing water, it 
is apt to accumulate to excess. Well lighted parts of the 
house, then, should be selected for the tomatoes. 

"2. Too much water in the soil. Water in excess can 
be withheld from the soil and prevent the trouble, and yet 
provide enough for the plants to grow. 

"3. The temperature of the soil may be too near that 
of the air. A high temperature of the soil makes the 
roots active, and if the temperature of the air is not con- 
siderably higher an excess of water is apt to accumulate 
in the plant. The aim would be, then, to have the tem- 
perature of the air considerably higher than that of the 
roots. 

"Lack of proper light also brings about the following 
harmful conditions : 

"i. Acids in the plant accumulate in the dark, and in 
strong light they decrease. When there is an abundance 
of water in the plant these acids draw large quantities 
into the cells, causing the cells to swell, resulting many 
times in oedema, or in the killing of the protoplasm, so 
that these parts of the plant die and become brown or 
black. 

" 2. Lack of light causes weak cell walls. It is only 
when well lighted that plants are capable of making sub- 
stances to build up cell walls with. Therefore, lack of 
light not only favors the accumulation of water, if other 
things are favorable, but it prevents the plants from build- 
ing up strong tissues. In such cases j^lants can grow 
themselves to death. Possibly artificial light might be 
used to advantage. 

"A quiet and close atmosphere also favors the ac- 
cumulation of water in the plant. Good ventilation 
should then be secured. Some means for the artificial 
agitation or exchange of the air at night might probably 
be profitably devised, 

13 FORC. 



ISO TOMATO. 

"Varieties of tomatoes more subject to the oedema: 
those with a tendency to a very rapid and succulent 
growth are more lial)le to the trouble ; tomatoes which 
develop a firm, woody young stem are less liable to it." 
The most serious disease of forced tomatoes which I 
have yet encountered is what, for lack of a better name, I 
called the winter blight, - and which is the concern of 
the remainder of this cliapter. This disease was first de- 
scribed in Garden and Forest in 1892.! The disease first 
appeared in our house in the winter of 1S90-91, when 
about a dozen plants were somewhat affected. At this 
time the trouble was not regarded as specific ; the plants 
were old, and had borne one crop, and it was thought 




62. Winter blight of tomato. 

that they were simply worn out. In some of our exper- 
iments it became necessary to carry about a dozen plants 
over the summer, and these were introduced into the 
house when the forcing season opened the next October. 
From this stock the trouble again spread, and in six or 
eight weeks it had become serious, and there was no longer 
any doubt that we were contending with a specific disease. 
This winter blight attacks the leaves. The first indi- 



*In Bulletin 43, Cornell Exp. Sta. 

t A New rj)isease of the Tomato, by E. <i. Lodeinaii. Garden and 
Forest, v. 175 (Apr. 13, 1S92). 



WINTER BLIGHT. 



I«I 



cation of the trou- 
ble is dwarfing and 
slight fading of the 
leaves, and the ap- 
pearance of more 
or less ill-defined 
yellowish spots or 
splashes. These 
spots soon become 
dark or almost 
black, and the leaf 
curls and becomes 
s t i ff, the edges 
drawing downward 
and giving the 
plant a wilted ap- 
pearance. This 
condition of the 
leaf is well shown 
in Fig. 62 (page 
180). The spots 
grow larger, until 
they often l)ecomc 
an eighth of an 
inch across, or 
even more, and 
they are finally 
more or less trans- 
lucent. This in- 
jury to the foliage 
causes the j^lant to 
dwindle, and the 
stems b e c o m e 
small a n d hard. 
Fruit production 
is lessened, or if 
the disease appears 
before flowers are 
formed, no fruit 




A plant attacked by iv inter blight {at 
back), compared with a healthy one. 



the 



l82 TOMATO. 

whatever may set. In two or three instances, in which 
young plants were attacked, the disease killed the plant 
outright, but a diseased plant ordinarily lives throughout 
the winter, a constant disappointment to its owner, but 
always inspiring the vain hope that greater age or better 
caie may overcome the difficulty. Fig. 63 (page 181) is 
a graphic illustration of the appearance of the disease. 
The box contains two plants, the lower one of which is 
healthy. 

It is probal^le that this disease is the work of germs. 
Examination of the diseased tissue has discovered the 
presence of micrococcus, but the true relation of the or- 
ganism to the disease has not been made out. 

Various treatments have been tried upon this disease. 
Our first attempt was thorough spraying with ammonia- 
cal carbonate of copper, and this is the one which first 
suggests itself to growers. Our efforts, although care- 
fully made at intervals, were wholly unsuccessful. It 
was then thought that treatment of the soil in which 
new plants were set might prove effective, and as our 
crop was grown in boxes, the experiment was easily 
tried. 

Boxes in which diseased plants had grown were emp- 
tied and the insides were thoroughly washed with va- 
rious substances, as follows : Three with dilute solution 
of ammoniacal carl)onate of copper ; two with lime white- 
wash ; one with Bordeaux mixture, and two with lye. 
Fresh soil was placed in these boxes and healthy young 
plants were set in them. The boxes were then placed 
in the tomato house, near both healthy and diseased 
plants. For three or four weeks the plants appeared 
to be healthy, but after that time the disease attacked 
them all without respect to treatment. The same result 
followed thorough watering of the soil with ammoniacal 
carbonate of copper, nitrate of soda, and lye. Late in 
the winter the remaining plants were removed from the 
box, the soil was again treated with ammoniacal carbon- 



WINTER BLIGHT OF TOMATO. 183 

ate of copper, and fresh seedlings were set in it ; but 
these plants also contracted the disease. Just before 
this last treatment was given, a lo-inch pot was filled 
from the soil in the box, and a seedling from the same 
lot as those placed in the box was planted in it. The 
pot was set in the tomato house. This plant showed the 
disease in less than three weeks. The question at once 
arises if the disease was not communicated through the 
air from infected plants, rather than through the soil. 
This I cannot answer, but it is certain that the disease 
travels from plant to plant which stand in separate 
boxes, and whose tops do not touch. Through what 
distance this transfer can take place I do not know. 
We observed it to have occurred through a distance of 
2 or 3 feet, but a plant which stood 15 feet from dis- 
eased plants, but separated from them by a glass parti- 
tion in which two doors stood open, did not take the 
blight. 

All our experiments, therefore, simply lead us to the 
conclusion that the best treatment for this winter blight 
is to remove all diseased plants at once, and if it be- 
comes serious to remove all the plants and soil in the 
house and start anew. They emphasize the importance 
of starting with new plants and fresh soil every fall. 
And all our experience has shown that the disease is 
fatal to success in tomato forcing, for we lost our crop 
in an endeavor to treat it. Since clearing our houses 
thoroughly of this infection, we have never had it again. 



CHAPTER X. 



CUCUMBER. 



The cucumber contests with the tomato the merit of 
being the most popular of the "warm" plants for forc- 
ing. In America the extensive forcing of cucumbers for 
market is of recent origin. In England, on the other 
hand, the species has long been forced, and as a conse- 
quence there has developed in that country a peculiar 
type of fruit, which is even yet not popularly known 
in the United States. The Americans desire the short 
cucumbers with which they are familiar in the open 
garden. So it happens that there are two branches or 
types of the species to which we need to address our 
attention. 

THE ENGLISH FORCING TYPE OF CUCUMBER. 

The English forcing varieties represent the most im- 
proved type of the cucumber, and many of them are so 
distinct in appearance from our common kinds that vis- 
itors to our houses often fail to recognize them as cu- 
cumbers. They deserve to become better known in this 
country. It is undoubtedly true that the market demand 
is more or less confined to particular cities, but it is in- 
creasing for these, as for all the better winter products 
of forcing-houses. The smaller and cheaper varieties 
are better adapted to the general market, but the care- 
ful grower, who has access to the larger markets, by 
rail or otherwise, should be able to control a select and 
very profitable trade in the English sorts, particularly 

(184) 



CUCUMBERS IN BERMUDA. 



185 




l86 CUCUMBER. 

when grown in connection witli tomatoes, beans, and 
other winter crops. Good fruits sell at from 25 to 75 
cents apiece, and on special occasions even higher. 

General requirements. — The general requirements of 
houses, temperature and moisture are essentially the 
same as for the forcing of tomatoes and beans. The 
temperature demanded by English cucumbers is 60° or 
65° at night and 70° to 75° in the shade during the day. 
They must have bottom heat, and are, therefore, grown 
on benches. Cucumbers are vigorous feeders, and water 
must be abundantly supplied to prevent flagging. In 
bright weather the air should be kept moist by wetting 
the walks, both to assist growth and to check the rav- 
ages of red spider. The greatest care is necessary, 
however, to dry the house off thoroughly every day or 
two (particularly in dull weather) to prevent attacks of 
mildew. These cucumbers have been developed in the 
mild and humid atmosphere of England, and they seem 
to be particularly liable to injury by hot suns. We have 
the best success in growing them under shaded roofs. 

In preparing the beds, which should be 6 to 8 inches 
deep, we generally place about an inch of clinkers or 
potsherds on the boards ; then follows 3 or 4 inches of 
partially decayed rich sods, preferably from an old pas- 
ture, and the bed is then filled with good, rich garden 
soil, to which has been added one-fourth part of well- 
rotted manure. If the soil is somewhat sticky when a 
damp portion of it is pressed in the hand, enough sand 
is added to make it loose and porous. During the win- 
ter liquid manure is applied as occasion seems to de- 
mand. It is imperative that the soil be very rich. Pro- 
ductiveness in the cucumber is almost entirely a ques- 
tion of food. Most gardeners suppose that three or four 
of these large cucumbers are all that a plant can bear at 
one time ; but the crop will depend very greatly upon 
the food, and the room which they have on the bench. 
We have had as many as 14 large cucumbers on a vine 



STARTING THE PLANTS. 187 

at one time. If the fruits are picked as soon as they 
arrive at edible size, the crop will be the larger. 

The plants are started in flats, upon small squares of in- 
verted sods, or in pots. I prefer the pots. We use 3-inch 
rose-pots, filling- them only a third full of earth. When 
the plant has formed a pair of true leaves and stands well 
above the brim, the pot is filled with earth. This affords 
additional root space and renders transplanting unneces- 
sary. When the pots are well filled with roots, the plants 
are transferred directly to the beds. Now comes one of 
the most critical times in cucumber forcing. The young 
plants are very liable to the attacks of aphis and fungi, 
and any failure in the bottom heat will seriously affect 
them. There are very few vegetables which require 
such careful attention until they become established. 
The aphis — which is mentioned later on — must be kept 
off, or the plant will be ruined, even in a few days. A 
stunted cucumber plant will make a short, bunchy 
growth at the top, and the leaves will be small and yel- 
lowish ; it may remain almost stationary for some weeks. 
Even if it finally resumes vigorous growth, it rarely be- 
comes a profitable plant. Some plants become stunted 
without apparent cause. A prolific source of poor plants 
is the growing of the seedlings in fall before the fires 
are started, for if the young plants become cold at night 
they will almost surely be ruined. To insure a good 
stand, I advise starting three or four times as many 
plants as are needed. The most vigorous ones are set 
out a foot or foot and a half apart upon the benches. 
As soon as the plants are established, the weaker ones 
are destroyed, leaving the remaining individuals from 
T-Yz to 3 feet apart. A good plant will grow vigorously 
from the start, and sometimes the lower leaves will fall 
off, giving it a scraggly and diseased appearance ; but 
so long as the growing portions are vigorous and the 
leaves are not attacked by mildew, the plant is in good 
condition. 



i88 



CUCUMBER 



Training. — The plants must now be trained. We 
make a simple trellis of No. i8 annealed wire. When 
there is sufficient room above the benches the plants 
are trained upon a perpendicular trellis, but on low 
benches they are trained along the roof. The wires 
are stretched lengthwise the house in parallel strands 
from a foot to a foot and a half apart, and cross-wires 
are run down from the rafters every 4 or 5 feet to pre- 



:^'^^c: 




6^. A latiie crop of Ens;Jish cuciimbevs. 

vent the strands from sagging. The vines are tied upon 
the wires with raffia or other soft cord. Two or three 
strong main branches are trained out, and only enough 
side shoots are allowed to grow to cover the trellis, the 
remaining ones being pinched out as soon as they 
appear. It is essential that the plants do not become 
"choked" or overcrowded with young growth, and 
some of the large leaves may be taken off in the dark 
days of midwinter if the foliage becomes very dense. 



WHEN THEY BEAR. iSq 

The branches are all headed-in as soon as they reach 
the top of the trellis or begin to encroach upon the 
space allowed for neighboring- plants. If the plants 
grow very rapidly and the trellis is large, some prelimi- 
nary heading back may be useful, but we have not prac- 
ticed the very close jiinching-in system recommended by 
English growers. 

Bearing age. — Growers who hnd no difificulty in forc- 
ing the common cucumbers in winter often fail with the 
English sorts. I am convinced that this failure comes 
m()Stly from two errors : insufficient bottom heat, and 
impatience for quick results. The grower must under- 
stand that earliness is not a characteristic of the English 
cucumbers. From the sowing of seed to marketable 
fruits, in midwinter, is an average of 80 to 100 days, in 
our experience. From a month to six weeks is required 
for the fruit to attain saleable size after the flower is 
set. A writer in Rrvier Horficolc in 1874, records the 
growing of Telegraph in 65 days from seed, which was 
the quickest time on record in his vicinity. This experi- 
ment was made from February to April, howe\er, when 
the days are lengthening. The plants continue in l)earing 
for three or four months under good treatment, and a 
plant ought to yield at least eight goods fruits. If the 
plants are pinched-in after the English custom, and al- 
lowed to bear but two or three fruits at a time, the 
fruiting season can l)e extended, and probably a larger 
number of fruits can be obtained ; but it is probably 
more profitable, especially in small houses, to secure 
the returns more quickly, in order to obtain a larger 
supply at any given time. Care must be taken not to 
allow the heavy fruits to pull the vines off the support, 
and those which do not hang free should be held up in 
slings, for if allowed to lie on the soil, they do not color 
evenly. Fig. 65 (see opposite page) shows (two fruits at 
the right) the method of swinging the fruits in slings. 
This swinging also appears to exert some influence upon 



igo 



CUCUMBER . 



the shape of the fruit, as will be discussed farther on. 
The figure (made from Hfe) shows a successful cucum- 
ber house in full bearing. 






A 




66. Three prominent varieties: S, Sion House; E, Duke of Edin- 
burgh ; T, Telegraph. 

Varieties. — There are many good varieties of English 
cucumbers. We have grown Sion House (S, Fig. 66) 
most largely, and for general purposes we prefer it. It 



THE VARIETIES. IQI 

is of medium length, averaging a foot or 14 inches when 
fully mature, smooth and regular. It would probably 
sell better than the larger sorts in markets which are 
unaccustomed to the large English varieties. Telegraph 
(T, Fig. 66) is also a favorite and productive variety, 
and is probably the most popular one with commercial 
growers. It is a smooth, slender, and very handsome 
fruit, ordinarily attaining a length of 18 or 20 inches. 
English authorities say that this variety is very liable to 
mixture, but we have never had such experience. Ken- 
yon {Lord Kenyoti' s Favorite) is also an excellent 
smooth, slender sort of medium length. Edinburgh 
{Duke of Edinburgh) is a spiny and somewhat furrowed 
variety, attaining a length of 20 to 24 inches (E, Fig. 66'. 
It is not an attractive variety, and we prefer others. 
Lome {Marquis of Lome) is one of the best of the very 
large sorts. We have grown a fruit of this 33^ inches 
long, and it was a perfect specimen. Blue Gown is 
also an old favorite. 

Very large fruits are less popular than those of me- 
dium length. They are too large for convenient table 
use, and they are apt to be inferior in quality to those 
a foot in length. The flavor of English cucumbers is 
somewhat different from that of the common field sorts, 
the texture being, as a rule, somewhat less breaking. 
But this is not an evidence of poor quality ; it is simiily 
a different quality, and evidently belongs to these fruits 
as a class. The English sorts retain their green color 
longer than the field varieties. They are ordinarily 
picked before they attain their complete growth, al- 
though they remain edible for some time after they have 
reached maturity. 

The reader will now be able to understand what the 
English mean by "prize cucumbers." Specimen fruits 
are exhibited at the shows, and there are certain cus- 
tomary scales of points for determining the merits of 
individual fruits, such as the age of the specimen, the 



192 CUCUMBER. 

ratio of thickness to length, the shape of the shoulder 
or stem end, the color of the tip, and the like. 

Origin of this type of cucumber. — To the student of 
plant variation, the forcing cucumbers possess unus- 
ual interest. As a class, these cucumbers are very dis- 
tinct from all others, and yet they are known to have 
come in recent times from the shorter and spiny iield 
sorts, at least those particular varieties which we 
now grow. It is not improbable that very long cu- 
cumbers were known some centuries ago. The Ca- 
iinnis longus of Bauhin, 1651, is figured, as pointed 
out by .Sturtevant", "as if equaling our longest and best 
English forms." But these older types do not appear 
to have been the ancestors of our modern forcing kinds. 
Our types all appear to have originated within the pres- 
ent century. The English have always been obliged, 
because of their climatic limitations, to grow cucumbers 
largely by the aid of artificial heat, and since the im- 
provements inaugurated by M'Phailf over a century ago, 
and extended by others shortly afterwards, special pits 
or houses have been designed for them. "Under these 
conditions," as Vilmorin remarks,.]; "the race could not 
fail to greatly imi:)rove in appearance and size, earliness 
and hardiness being regarded as qualities of secondary 
importance. This has actually occurred, and there are 
now in cultivation in England about ten or a dozen va- 
rieties of the long green cucumber, all bearing long and 
nearly cylindrical fruits, nearly spineless, with solid flesh, 
and seeding very sparingly." M'Phail and other early 
writers do not speak of special or named kinds for forcing, 
showing that there had been little departure at that time 
from common sorts. The earliest mention which I find of 



*Anier. Nat. 1S87, 909. 

fA Treatise on the Culture of the Cucumber, by James M'Phail, 
Second ed. 1795. 

J Les Plantes PotaKeres, Second cd. 1S7. 



HISTORY OF THESE CUCUMBERS. I93 

a named long forcing cucumber was written in 1822.* It 
recites that in 1820 Patrick Flanagan, gardener to Sir 
Thomas Hare, sent two specimens of cucumbers, one 
green and the other ripe, to the London Horticultural 
Society. The green one measured 17 inches in length, 
was nearly 7 inches in circumference, and weighed 26 
ounces. The ripe one was 25 >^ inches long, ii)4 inches 
in circumference, and weighed 6 lbs. The record con- 
tinues : " jNIr. F'lanagan states that he has frequenth- 
grown these cucumbers in high perfection for the table, 
near 2 feet long; in 181 1 he produced one in a stove 
which measured 31 inches in length, was 12 inches in 
circumference, and weighed 11 pounds. This is a re- 
markable variety of the cucumber, combining with such 
extraordinary \igor of growth so much excellence of 
Havor as to make it i:)articularly deserving of notice. 
Some seeds were communicated to the society, and 
have been distributed under the name of Flanagan's cu- 
cumber. The sort was obtained by Mr. Flanagan in 
1804, from a friend in Buckinghamshire. It keeps true 
to itself, without variation ; l)ut it is difficult to make 
it yield seed. It requires to be grown in high tempera- 
ture." The surprise which these fruits occasioned among 
a body of gardeners indicates that they were novelties. 
I cannot understand the great weight of the large cucum- 
ber. Our specimens of larger size weigh only about a 
third as much. The oldest of the varieties which we 
now cultivate appears to be the Sion House, a product 
of the gardens of the Duke of Northumberland, at Brent- 
ford, in Middlesex, to which the gardening world is in- 
debted for man)- achievements. I presume that the first 
record which was made of this variety is that written by 
the conductor of the Gardeners' JMa^^azine early in 1831, 
as follows:! "An excellent variety of cucumber is grow- 



* Trans. London Hort. Soc. \\ . 560. 
fGard. Mag. vii. toi. 



194 CUCUMBER. 

ing in the forcing houses at Syon.* The fruit is long, 
perfect!}^ smooth, and the leaves extremely large (i8 
inches across) ; they are grown in boxes placed over the 
back flue of the pine-pits, and the shoots trained under 
the glass over the pits. Mr. Forrest [gardener] has 
gathered fruit daily since October last, and will continue 
to do so, if he chooses, all the year round." In his 
first edition of P/anfes Pofagcres, Vilmorin says that 
the Sion House was raised from the White cucumber, 
but he omits the statement in the second edition ; and 
I am unable to find any confirmation of it. 

From this comparatively recent beginning the Eng- 
ligh cucumbers have diverged widely from their parents. 
In all the following characters they differ, as a rule, 
from common cucumbers. The fruits (and ovaries) are 
v^ery long and slender, cylindrical (not ridged or fur- 
rowed), spineless or nearly so at maturity, remain bright 
green until full maturity, and seeds are produced spar- 
ingly ; the flowers are very large ; the vines are very 
vigorous and long, with long and thick tendrils ; and 
the leaves are very broad in proportion to their length, 
and the full grown ones appear to have a tendency to 
make shallower sinuses or angles than do the field kinds. 
But the most remarkable peculiarity is the habit of pro- 
ducing seedless fruits, which is discussed farther on. 

In 1S59, Naudinf grouped all cultivated cucumbers 
under four divisions : Small Russian, Common Long, 
White, and Sikkini (later described by Sir J. D. Hooker 
as Chcuuiis sativus var. Sikkinicusis). Recently Sturte- 
vant,J omitting the Sikkim cucumber, has grouped them 
under six heads: Common cucumbers; "a second form, 
very near to the above, but longer, less rounding, and 
more prickly;" "smooth and medium-long cucumbers;" 
English or forcing kinds ; white ; Russian. I am not 

* Sion appears to be the later and preferable spelling, 
t Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. 4th Ser. xi. 28. 
JAmer. Nat. 1887, 908. 



THE DIFFERENT FLOWERS. 



195 



sure that this latter classification is a practicable one, 
but it is certainly well to place the English forcing va- 
rieties in a group alone. 

Pollination — Ill-shaped fruits. — Cucumbers are mo- 
noecious plants : that is, the sexes are borne in separate 
ftowers on the same plant. Fig. 67 represents the two 
kinds of flowers on the common field cucumber. P is 
the pistillate or fruit-bearing flower. The young cucum- 
ber, or ovary, can be seen below the petals or leaves 
of the flower. S shows the staminate flower, which per- 
sists only long enough to supply pollen to fertilize the 
pistillate flowers. The staminate flowers are more nu- 
merous than the pistillate, and they begin to appear 




6~. The pollen-beariyig and fruit -bearing flowers. 

earlier ; a sufticient sui:)ply of pollen is therefore insured 
against all exigencies of weather or other untoward cir- 
cumstances. Out of doors the pollen is carried from 
the staminate to the pistillate flower by insects, but pol- 
len-carrying insects are absent from the greenhouse. If 
the flowers are fertilized in the iiouse, therefore, the pol- 
len must be carried by hand. It is certain that some 
plants of English cucumbers will set fruit to perfection 
without seeds and entirely without the aid of pollen, 
but other plants (and in our experience they have been 
greatly in the majority) utterly refuse to do so. I do 

14 FORC. 



ig6 CUCUMBER. 

not know if this is true of the common cucumbers, but 
we have made several unsuccessful efforts to grow Me- 
dium Green {NichoFs Medium Green) in the house 
without pollination. In the early days of cucumber forc- 
ing, hand pollination was practiced, but it has been 
abandoned by many growers.* It is possible that the 
forcing cucumber sets more freely now without pollen 
than it did before its characters were well fixed, or per- 
haps the early gardeners performed an unnecessary labor. 
We have sometimes thought that the fruits set more 
freely without pollination as the plants become matu:e. 
As a result of several years' experience, however, we 
find that hand pollination is essential to the certainty of 
securing a crop. 

Many gardeners suppose that pollen causes the fruit 
to grow large at the end, as in Fig. 68, and they, there- 



*" Fertilization was formerly considered necessary for the setting 
of cucumbers, hut it has long been proved to be needless. Indeed, 
fruits intended for eating are better without, as the seeds in them are 
not so numerous. For seeding purposes fertilization is decidedly re- 
quired, if good, heavy seed be needed." — Kitchen and Market Gard. 150 
( London, 1887). 

" Except for seeding purposes, it is not necessary that the latter 
[pistillate flowers] should be fertilized, the fruit reaching the same 
size, and being all the better for the absence of seeds. In winter 
time, or in the case of weak plants, the whole of the male flowers 
might with advantage be kept removed." — IVicholson^s Diet. Gard. 
I, 405- 

General Russell Hastings, of Bermuda Islands (whose house is 
shown in Fig. 64, page 185), writes me as follows upon this question of 
pollinating the forcing cucumbers: "I am growing the English frame 
cucumber, many fruits growing 2 feet long and weighing as high as 3 
pounds. When I first began, some six years ago, liaving read of the 
necessity of ixillinating by hand, I used to perform this work ; but I 
became neglectful, and it seemed entirely uiniecessary to pollinate, as 
my growth was fully as good as before my careful attention. I went so 
far in my experiment as to select a pistillate bud which, if left alone, 
would have opened the following day, and with care cut off the bud 
and destroyed the pistil. From this I raised a very large cucumber, 
but, of course, without a seed from one end to the other. When I first 
began with my glass house, I had no bees, and never saw one in the 
house, but for the past two years I have had bees not far from the house, 
and as the sash stands open nearly every day, it is, of course, constantly 
visited by bees. The result in the number and growth of cucumbers 
is no better than when I did not pollinate, nor when there were no bees 
around." 



UNSHAPELY FRUITS. 



197 



fore, aim to produce seedless cucumbers for the double 
purpose of saving labor and of procuring- 
straighter and more shapely fruits. For sev- 
eral years we have made experiments upon 
these questions, but we are not yet able to 
make many definite statements concerning 
them ; we think, however, that the large thick- 
ened ends of fruits like Fig. 68 are caused by 
the production of seeds in that portion. The 
early flowers nearly always fail to set if pollen 
is withheld, but late flowers upon the same plant 
may set freely with no pollen. Fruits which 
have set without pollination are uniformly seed- 
Jess throughout, as shown in Fig. 69 (page 
198), the walls of the ovules remaining loose 
and empty. Pollination does not occur when 
the fruits are left to themselves in the forcing- 
house, especially in midwinter, when pollen- 
carrying insects are not present. Upon old 
plants we often prevent pollination, for experi- 
mental purposes, by tying together the 
flower tube, or occasionally by cutting 
off the flower bud altogether from the 
top of the ovary or young cucumber 
but this latter method is uncertain. 

In pollinating, we follow the same 
method advised by Abercrombie and f^,i^-'M'M 
other writers of the last century, — pick 
off a staminate flower, strip back the co- 
rolla, and insert the column of anthers 6a. A misshapen 
into a pistillate flower. Jrmt. 

The production of misshapen fruits is one of the dif- 
ficulties of cucumber forcing. The commonest deformity 
is the large end shown in Fig. 68. English gardeners 
often grow the fruits in glass tubes to make them 
straight. The cause of the deformities, particularly of 
the swollen end, is obscure. The forcing cucumber pro- 



igS 



CUCUMBER 




69. A seedless {not polUiiated) 
fruit. The Berkshire Cham- 
pion cucumber. 



duces seeds only near the 
blossom end, the ovules in 
the remaining half or two- 
t'lirds never filling out, no 
matter how much pollen is 
applied to the stigma. It 
would seem, therefore, that 
if all these ovules in the 
blossom end were to de- 
veloj^ into good seeds, the 
fruit must be larger at this 
point. And it would also 
seem as if accidental appli- 
cation of pollen to one side 
of the stigma must make the 
fruit one-sided by developing 
one cell at the expense of 
another, for this actually oc- 
curs in tomatoes and apples. 
But we have found that seed- 
bearing is not necessarily as- 
sociated with a swollen end 
to the fruit, and pollination 
of one side does not appear 
to destroy the symmetry of 
the fruit. We have per- 
formed many experiments 
upon the influences of differ- 
ent amounts of pollen, but 
find that there is very little 
difference in external results, 
whether little or much pol- 
len is used. This is directly 
contrary to our experience 
with winter tomatoes. Little 
pollen (30 to 50 pollen 
grains) may produce fewer 
seeds than much pollen (200 



CUCUMBER CROSSES. igg 

or more pollen grains), but the shape of the fruit is not 
necessarily influenced. And yet there are instances in 
which pollination appears to make the fruit unshapely, 
but why it should exert this influence at some times and 
not at others I am unable at present to state. It ap- 
pears to be often a peculiarity or variation of indi- 
vidual plants. There were two plants in our house one 
winter which invariably produced deformed fruits when 
pollen was used, although fruits on other plants along- 
side were not influenced by pollen. Upon these suscepti- 
ble individuals w^e found that the pollinated fruits would 
grow to uniform thickness if they were swung or tied uj:), 
as recommended on page i<89. It is probable that much 
of the irregularity in shape is but an expression of plant 
variation, rather than a result of particular treatment. It 
is an interesting fact in the variation of plants under 
domestication that the long English cucumber cannot 
produce seed in its lower half, although ovules are 
usually present. It is probable that the fruit has been 
developed to such a length that the pollen-tubes cannot 
reach the remote ovules. 

Crosses. — The English forcing cucumbers cannot be 
successfully grown in the field, but they possess some 
points of merit for a field cucumber, as smoothness and 
cylindricity, length, and great vigor of vine. We there- 
fore attempted some crosses in the winter of 18S9-90 be- 
tween the Sion House and Medium Green, hoping to 
produce a superior sort for outdoor use. Our results 
have been exceedingly interesting from a scientific point 
of view, although we have not yet procured the cucum- 
ber which we sought. Fruits of unusual promise have 
been obtained, but they have not produced good seeds. 
Some of the mongrel fruits developed a peculiar weak- 
ness in the tendency of the placentce or cell walls to de- 
cay. The seeds did not mature, and the soft, pulpy tis- 
sue about them solidified. Near the apex of the fruit the 
placentae tended to break away from the body, and in 



200 CUCUMBER. 

the cavities decay set in and extended finally to the base 
of the fruit. All the fruits upon one of the mongrel 
plants behaved in this manner. In no case had the fruit 
been injured, nor was the decay visible upon the exterior 
until it had extended well down the fruit. I am unable 
to account for it. 

In most instances, the mongrel vines resembled the 
Medium Green (the staminate parent) more than the 
Sion House. The fruits were generally intermediate, 
although almost every gradation was observed. Some- 
times the fruits would vary widely upon the same plant. 
A number of vines bore beautiful fruits twice longer 
than the Medium Green, nearly cylindrical, with very 
few spines ; and we are looking for good results from 
tliis or some similar cross. 

Enemies. — The most serious enemy with which we 
have had to contend in cucumber forcing is the spotted 
mite, which feeds upon the under surface of the leaves, 
destroying the green tissue. This pest is treated in the 
preceding chapter (page 176). 

A large coal-black aphis or plant-louse (probably 
Aphis riimicis, Linn.), has been a serious pest. It is 
the worst aphis with which I have ever had experience, 
and every effort should be made to prevent its becom- 
ing established upon the plants. It can be destroyed by 
persistent fumigation, but it must be remembered that 
the cucumber cannot endure a very heavy smudge. 

The root-gall (already described on pages 84 and 
85) is often serious in cucumber houses. 

The powdery mildew {Erysiphe Cichoracearimi, or 
Oidinm erysiphoides var. Ciicurbitanim) is a serious en- 
emy to cucumber culture if it once gains a good foot- 
hold. It will soon ruin the plants. The disease is su- 
perinduced by too close and moist atmosphere and a 
too soft condition of the foliage. It usually begins as 
light green or yellowish ragged spots — a quarter-inch 
or half-inch across — on the leaves, and generally soon 



THE WHITE SPINES. 20I 

develops into frosty patches. When it appears, dry off 
the house, raise the temperature, and give plenty of air 
(without any draughts). It is also a good plan to dust 
the foliage thoroughly with powdered sulphur. If the 
disease threatens to become serious, sulphur should be 
evaporated in the house. Flowers of sulphur is placed 
in a small basin and set upon a small oil stove (Fig. 31, 
page 92). The house is tightly closed, and enough 
sulphur is evaporated to completely fill the house with 
strong fumes for a half hour. Care must be exercised 
that the sulphur does not take fire, for burning sulphur 
is very injurious to plants. 

THE WHITE SPINE TYPES OF CUCUMBER. 

The forcing of the White Spine types of cucumber is 
not greatly different from that of the true forcing types. 
The chief points of dissimilarity to be borne in mind are 
these : The White Spine types are shorter-lived than the 
others, and tend to ripen up their crop at once ; they 
are less succulent in growth, and demand full sunlight 
for their best development ; they can be readily grown 
under glass in summer, after the house is cleared of its 
winter crops, thereby giving a crop much in advance of 
the outdoor plants ; they seem always to require pollina- 
tion, either by hand or by bees ; they are less rampant 
growers, and bear smaller leaves than the others, and 
may, therefore, be planted somewhat closer. 

With these contrasts in mind, the reader who has 
followed the discussion of the English cucumber in the 
preceding pages will have no difficulty in apprehending 
the essential points in the management of these Ameri- 
can cucumbers. The plants will mature the crop in 
about three months from the time they are put on the 
benches. A certain house of 68 plants yielded, in three 
months, 6, iSo fruits, or an average of 90 to the plant. 
This w'as possible because every fruit was picked the 



202 



CUCUMBER, 




^ 



V 



YIELDS AND PRICES. 203 

moment it was fit for sale, and the crop was grown from 
April to June. A common method of growing them is 
to let them follow lettuce. Two or three crops of let- 
tuce can be taken from a house by early spring (say by 
March), and cucumber plants may then be ready to be 
set in the beds. These four crops should bring in a 
gross return of 30 to 50 cents a square foot of ground, 
the income depending mostly upon the man. Even in 
winter, these plants can be grown in houses which 
were designed for lettuce, if the temperature is kept 
pretty high, for these types of cucumbers do not de- 
mand bottom heat so imperatively as the English kinds 
do. A cucumber forcer tells me that he generally re- 
ceives I3 per dozen for extra quality of White Spine 
(or Boston Market) cucumbers, and 14 per dozen for the 
forcing kinds. 



CHAPTER XL 



MUSKMELON. 



"There is not, I believe, any species of fruit at pres- 
ent cultivated in tiie gardens of this country," wrote 
Thomas Andrew Knight, in iSii, "which so rarely ac- 
quires the greatest degree of perfection, which it is capa- 
ble of acquiring in our climate, as the melon." The 
melon is particularly prized in England, for, because of 
the coolness of the climate, it is generally grown to per- 
fection only under glass, and is thereby appreciated ; 
and it is in England, too, that one finds the most expert 
methods of growing it. The melon is treated there, 
however, as a spring or early summer, or late fall, crop. 

The forcing of melons for delivery in midwinter is 
practically unknown. The fruit is often grown as an 
early winter crop, ripening in October and early Novem- 
ber, and the seeds are often sown in January and the 
melons matured in May and June. Gardeners now and 
then ripen a few melons in midwinter, but the fruits are 
almost invariably very poor, or even disagreeable, in 
quality. The writer has long been convinced that it is 
possible to secure good melons in December, January 
and February, and to grow them nearly as cheaply as 
the English or frame cucumbers. The attempt was first 
made in the winter of 1889-90, and it has been repeated 
more or less persistently until the present time, and the 
results during the past two years have been satisfac- 
tory. The melon is certainly the refinement of the 
vegetable garden. To get it in midwinter, with the 

(204) 



EPITOME OF MELON FORCING. 205 

sweetness and fragrance of August, is no mean ambi- 
tion. Then, if at no other time, one may exclaim with 
Thoreau — 

"And what saith Adshed of the melon ? 



" ' Color, taste, and smell, — smaragdus, honey, and musk ; 
Amber for the tongue, for the eye a picture rare ; 
If you cut the fruit in slices, every slice a crescent fair; 
If you have it whole, the full harvest moon is there.'" 

In order to satisfy the reader's curiosity at the outset, 
I will say that the essentials for growing midwinter mel- 
ons, as I understand them, are these : High teuipcratu7'e 
from the start (80° to 85° at midday, and 65° to 70° at 
night) ; the ptafits must never be checked^ even from the 
mouie/it the seeds germinate, either by inseets, fungi, lozu 
temperature, or delay in "'handling'" ; dryness at time 
of ripejiifig ; a soil containing plenty of mineral ele- 
ments, particularly, of course, potash and phosphoric acid ; 
polliniferous varieties ; the selection of varieties adapted 
to the purpose. All these requirements seem to be easy 
enough of attainment as one reads them, but it has taken 
us six years to learn them. Others would no doubt have 
been more expeditious ; but it should be said that no 
one of these conditions will insure success, but all of 
them must be put together. 

Watermelons are not forced, as they demand a too 
long season, make too rampant growth, and probably 
would not develop their best quality in midwinter. I 
have seen them ripened in a glass house in early sum- 
mer, following winter crops, with fair success. It is 
probable that forcing varieties could be developed, but 
it is doubtful if the fruits would be large enough to meet 
with ready sale. 

The house. — A house which is adapted to the grow- 
ing of English cucumbers or tomatoes should grow mel- 
ons. The first requisite is heat. The capacity of the 
heating system must be sufficient to maintain a high 
temperature in the coldest weather. The house should 



2o6 



M U S K M E L O N . 







s 



s 

^ 



THE HEAT AND THE SOIL, 2o7 

be free of draughts and large leaks. Our melon house 
opens into sheds at both ends, so that no outside air 
ever blows into it ; yet even here we lock up the house 
from the time the melons begin to form, to prevent per- 
sons from passing through it. We like to keep the room 
close. It should be capable of being kept dry. There 
should be ample room over the benches for training the 
vines 5 to 6 feet. We use benches, for melons must 
have strong bottom heat. Fig. 71 (page 206) is a view 
in our melon house, taken on the 3rd of October (at this 
time many of the melons were as large as one's fist), 
the plants having been set in the bench on the 20th of 
August, and the seeds sown the 20th of July. For my- 
self, particularly where such high temperatures are 
wanted, I prefer steam heat. A melon house should 
receive direct sunlight through an unshaded roof. In 
this respect melons differ from the English or frame cu- 
cumbers, which generally thrive best under a shaded 
roof. The burning of the foliage by the sun is avoided 
by the use of glass which does not possess waves or va- 
rying thicknesses in the panes. The bubbles, flaws and 
"tear drops" in glass are not the cause of burning. 
F'»- 3 (P^feG 18) shows a cross-section of the house in 
which we have grown melons, and which is also shown 
in Fig. 71. We have used benches A, b and c. The 
lower bench, d, has too little head room, and, being 
the lowest, it is too cold for melons. 

The soil should be very fertile. We have had good 
success with clay sod, which had not been manured, 
pulverized and mixed thoroughly with about one-quarter 
the bulk of well-rotted stable manure (but fresh or rank 
manure should not be used). Such a mixture contains 
enough quickly available nitrogen to start the plants off 
strongly, whilst the mechanical condition of it is so fria- 
ble that all the mineral elements are easily obtained by 
tiie plants. It should be well firmed, after it is placed in 
the bench, by pressing it down with the hands or by 



208 MUSKMELON. 

pounding with a brick. An occasional light application 
of potash and phosphoric acid worked into the soil will 
be found to be useful. Very much of the ultimate be- 
havior of the plants will depend upon the proper selec- 
tion and mixing of the soil, and one who has had no 
experience in forcing-house work will rarely obtain the 
best results for the first year or two in preparing the 
earth. The mechanical condition of this soil is really 
more important than its fertility, for plant food may be 
added from time to time, but the soil itself cannot be 
renewed whilst the crop is growing ; and, moreover, 
the plant food is of little avail unless the soil is well 
drained and aerated, not too loose nor too hard. It is 
impossible to describe this ideal soil in such manner 
that the beginner can know it. Like many other sub- 
jects of handicraft, it can be known only by experience. 
It may help the novice, if I say that soil which will 
grow good melons in the field may not be equally good 
in the house. Under glass, with the fierce heats in full 
sunshine and the strong bottom heat, heavy watering, 
as compared with normal rainfall, is essential, whilst 
the rapid drainage and the evaporation from both the 
top and the bottom of the bed, impose conditions which 
are much unlike those of the field. But the ideal con- 
dition of the soil to be maintained in the house may be 
likened to the warm, mellow, rich and moist seed-bed 
in which every farmer likes to sow his garden seeds in 
spring. There is no sub-soil indoors to catch the drain- 
age, and a mellow field soil is often so loose and po- 
rous that the water runs through the benches and carries 
away the plant food. The house soil must, therefore, 
be retentive, but then there is danger that it will be- 
come puddled or sodden, or arrive in that condition 
which a gardener knows as a "sour" soil. This condi- 
tion may be avoided by the use of the stable manure to 
add fiber to the soil, by the very frequent stirring of the 
immediate surface with a hand weeder, and particularly 



THE SOIL AND ITS DEPTH. 209 

by great care in watering. As the fruits begin to ma- 
ture, water tiie house very sparingly, "The less water 
given, the higher will be the flav^or of the fruit. "^ Inas- 
much as old or fruiting plants require a dry house, and 
young plants thrive best in a moister atmosphere, it is 
not advisable to attempt to grow successive plantings of 
melons simultaneously in the same house. 

Recent English instructions, by James Barkham,t give 
the following advice about melon soil: "The top spit 
from an old pasture is what I prefer, if such is obtain- 
able, soil such as a good, strong, yellow loam being 
most suitable. This should be broken up with the spade 
to about the size of a duck's egg. Do not use any 
manure, but to every cartload of loam add two bar- 
rowloads of old mortar or plaster, broken up and run 
through an inch mesh sieve, and one barrowload of half- 
decayed leaf soil, turning the whole two or three times, 
so as to thoroughly mix it. Mistakes are often made in 
preparing soil for melons by making it too rich by add- 
ing manure, which encourages a too luxuriant growth. 
When this is so, it is an impossibility to obtain satisfac- 
tory results, as the growth becomes so succulent that 
instead of the fruit setting it turns yellow and decays." 

The bench should not be above 7 inches deep, and 
perhaps 5 inches is better. If the soil is too deep, the 
plants grow too much, and are late in coming into bear- 
ing. If the bench is 4 feet wide, two rows of plants, 
2)4 feet apart in the rows, may be grown ; but if the 
bench is an outside one, it may be handier in training 
if there is but a single row, with the plants about 18 
inches apart. It should always be borne in mind, how- 
ever, that at least twice the number of plants should be 
set in the beds which are ultimately to grow in them. 



♦George Mills, A Treatise on the Cucumber and Melon, 73. 
tjimes Barkham, F. R. H. S., in Journal of the Royal Horticul- 
tural Society, xx. p. i (1896). 



210 



MUSKMELON. 



for there will almost certainly be accidents and black 
aphis, and mildew, and damping-off. When the plants 
have stood in the benches two or three weeks, the weak 
ones may be pulled out. It is a good practice, when 
but a single row is planted, to set the plants nearer one 
side than the other, and then leave the wider side of 
the bench empty, and add the soil to it as the plants 
need it. In this way fresh forage is obtained for the 
roots in soil which has not been leached of its plant 
food nor impaired in its mechanical condition ; and the 
plants will make a steady growth from start to finish, 
rather than an over-vigorous one at first. If there is 
too much soil, the roots spread through it quickly and 
the plants run at once to vine. 

Sowing and transplanting. — The seeds should be 
sown in pots. We like to place a single seed in a 2- 

inch pot, and in 
about three weeks — 
if in summer or fall 
— to transplant the 
seedling into a 4-inch 
pot. In two or three 
weeks more the plant 
may be set perma- 
nently in the bench 
at the distances indi- 
cated in the above 
paragraph. It is a 
most excellent plan 
(as explained for cu- 
cumbers) to fill the 
pots only half full of 

72. Melon plant {in 4-inch pot) in fit con- earth or COmpOSt at 
dition for transplanting into bench. first, and then fill the 

pot up as soon as the plant overtops the rim. The 
record of one of our crops is as follows : Seeds sown 
August 4 ; repotted August 30 ; transplanted to bench 




TRAINING HOUSE MELONS. 211 

September lo ; first fruit picked December 6 ; crop all 
harvested for Christmas.* If a crop is desired on the 
first of November, the seeds should be sown from the 
middle to the 25th of July. Fig. 72 (page 210) shows 
the size of a good melon plant as it leaves a 4-inch pot 
for the bench. It is very important that the plants should 
not become pot-bound, nor stunted in any other way. It 
is only strong, pushing plants which give satisfactory 
results. 

Training. — The plants are "stopped" — the tip of the 
leader taken off — as soon as they become established in 
the bench. This pinching-in is practiced for the purpose 
of setting the plant at once into fruit-bearing, and to 
make it branch into three or four main shoots. All the 
weak or "fine" shoots are removed as fast as they ap- 
pear, so that the plant does not expend its energy in the 
making of useless growth. The three or four main vines 
or arms are trained divergently upon a wire trellis, and 
as soon as a shoot reaches the top of the trellis — 4 or 5 
feet — it is stopped. Some growers prefer to have a 
leader 4 or 5 feet long, and only two laterals and of 
about the same length as the leader. The trellis is 
made simply of light wire, strung both horizontally and 
vertically, with the strands about a foot apart in each 
direction. To these wires the vines and fruits are tied 
with raffia, or other soft, broad cord. It must be re- 
membered that the fruit is borne along the main 
branches, and that all small or "blind" growths from 
the main stem and branches should be nipped out as 
soon as they start. The fruits should hang free from the 
vine, never touching the ground. It will generally be 
necessary to hang them to a wire, as shown in Fig. 73 
(page 212), by making a sling of rafha, or resting them 



*It should be said that the forcing season at Ithaca is unusually 
cloudy, and that, consequently, these dates of maturity are somewhat 
later than they may be in sunnier regions. 

15 FORC. 



212 



MUSKMELON. 



upon a little swing with a block oi wood for the bottom 
(as in Fig. 77, page 217). They will then not hang too 
heavily on the vine, nor break off, — as they sometimes 
do if unsupported. 

Barkham, whom I have already quoted, writes as fol- 
lows of the training of melons: "Train the plants to 
a neat stake until the trellis is reached ; rub off all 
growths as they show from the stem below the trellis ; 
train the growths right and left, and allow the leading 




"J J. Melon in a slitig of raffia. 

Stem to grow up, without stopping, to within a foot of 
the top. If the side shoots are likely to be crowded, 
pinch out some at first sight, as the melon will not en- 
dure thinning so severely as the cucumber ; therefore the 
growths should be stopped and thinned early enough 
for those remaining to just cover the trellis with well- 
developed foliage, and no more. The first laterals 
which are formed at the bottom of the trellis should be 



TRAINING AND PRUNING. 



213 



stopped at the second or third leaf, and by the time the 
sub-laterals show fruit other fruits will be showing on 
the first laterals higher up. The plants, whether grow- 
ing in houses or pits, should be gone over twice or 
three times a week for the purpose of stopping and re- 
moving any superfluous growth, so as to allow of the 
principal leaves being fully exposed to the light. Stop 
at the first joint beyond the fruit, and remove all weak 
srrowths and laterals not showing fruit. 




7^. Pistillate flower of melon. Full size. 

"Overcrowding is the greatest evil in melon culture, 
because the excessive foliage must be thinned, and its 
removal results in exudation from the wounds, gan- 
grene sets in, and the affected parts perish through 
'wet-rot' (bacteria and bacillus growths). To arrest 
these, antiseptics must be used ; the safest is quicklime, 
rubbing it well into the affected parts, and repeating as 
necessary. But the worst effect of removing a large 



214 



MUSKMELON. 



quantity of growth is giving a check to the fruit, not 
unfrequently causing it to cease swelhng, and it becomes 
hard in the flesh ; fungoid germs fasten upon the exu- 
dation, and the fruit decays when it should ripen. These 
disasters are generally preventable by attending to the 
thinning and stopping of the growths in time." 

Pollinating. — The flowers must be pollinated by hand. 
Melons are monoecious, —that is, the sexes are borne 
in separate flowers on the same plant. The first flowers 
to open are always males or staminates, and it may be 
two weeks after these first blossoms appear that the 
females or pistillates begin to form. There is nearly al- 
ways a much larger number of males than females, even 
when the plant is in full bearing. Fig. 74 (page 213) is 
a female or pistillate flower, natural size. It is at once 
distinguisiied by the little melon, or ovary, which is 
borne below the colored portion of the flower. The 
male or staminate flower is seen in Fig. 75. It has no 
enlargement or melon below, and the flower perishes 
within a day or so after it opens. Pollination is per- 
formed in the middle of the day, preferably when the 

house is dry and 
the sun bright, 
so that the pol- 
len is easily de- 
tached from the 
male flower. A 
male flower is 
picked off', the 
petals or leaves 
stripped back, 
and the central 

7j. staminate flo7ver cf melon. Full size. or pollen-bearing 

column is then inserted into a pistillate flower, and there 
allowed to remain. That is, one male flower is used to 
pollinate one female flower, unless there should happen 
to be a dearth of male flowers, in which case two or 




POLLINATION, VARIETIES. 215 

three female flowers may be dusted with one male. If 
the house is too cool and too moist, the pollen will not 
form readily, and there are some varieties which are 
poor in pollen when grown under glass. 

Every pistillate or female flower, except the first two 
or three which appear, should be pollinated, although not 
more than four or five on each plant should be allowed 
to perfect fruit. It is very rare that even half of the fe- 
male flowers show a disposition to set fruit. It is best 
to ignore the very first flowers which appear, for if one 
strong fruit is set much in advance of the appearing of 
other pistillate flowers, it will usurp the energies of the 
plant, and the later fruits will be likely to fail. Upon this 
point Barkham remarks: "Never commence fertilizing 
the blooms until there is a sufficient number ready at 
one time, or within an interval of three days, to furnisli 
the crop. If one or two fruits are allowed to swell off 
first, the later-set fruit will not swell, but die away. In- 
deed, if only one fruit is set in advance of the rest, it 
will monopolize all the strength of the i:)lant, and pre- 
vent any more fruit from setting. When a sufficient 
number of fruits is set, select the largest and best 
shaped, taking off all small and misshapen ones. If 
large fruits are wanted, leave from four to six fruits to 
each plant, or if smaller fruits are desired, allow eight 
or ten to remain." Mr. Barkham iiere speaks of the 
spring crop (seeds sown in January or later), and his 
plants are about 3 feet apart each way. 

Varieties. — The general varieties of field melons do 
not succeed well in the house. We have tried various 
common melons for forcing, but the only one which was 
adapted to the purpose is Emerald Gem. We ha\e had 
the best success with the English frame varieties, particu- 
larly with Blenheim Orange. All these melons are small 
(winter specimens weighing from i^ to 2 lbs.), with 
thin netted rinds, and a red or white flesh of high quality. 

Blenheim Orange (Fig. 76, page 216) is a red-fleshed 



2t6 



M U S K M E L O N 




VARIETIES OF FORCING MELONS. 



217 



melon of medium to medium-large size, with a very ir- 
regularly and variously barred rind, scarcely ribbed, 
short-oval in shape, highly perfumed, and of the very 
highest quality. This has been our favorite winter melon. 
In midwinter we have had it with all the characteristic 
flavor and aroma of autumn fully developed. It is also 
an early melon, in season coming in just after Emerald 
Gem. 




jy. Hero of LockDigc melon. 

Hero of Lockinge (Fig. 77). This ripens just after 
Blenheim Orange. It is a firm melon of medium size, 
with white flesh, dark in color, with a few very prom- 
inent irregular bars, not ribbed, globular, the flesh ten- 
der and ex(!ellent, but less aromatic than Blenheim. 
This is one of the best of the frame melons, and is 
very striking in appearance. 



2l8 MUSK MELON. 

Lord Beaconsfield follows Lockinge, but it has not 
been valuable with us. It is a dull green, globular-con- 
ical, misshapen melon, without ribs or netted markings, 
and a soft, green flesh, which is rather poor. 

Little Heath is a melon of medium size, slightly ob- 
long, dark lemon yellow, with no bars or markings ; 




jS Masterpiece melon. 

flesh white and thui, only fair in cjuality ; productive, and 
the crop is uniform in ripening. 

Masterpiece (Fig. 78). A very attractive melon, with 
distinct ribs or segments, and a closely and prominently 
reticiflated rind ; glolnilar-oval, of medium size, becom- 
ing yellow, with a thick and very rich red flesh. One of 



VARIETIES OF FORCING MELONS. 219 

the very best, ripening ten days or two weeks after Blen- 
heim Orange. 

Empress. A globular melon of rather small size, rib- 
less, but marked with very coarse angular bars ; flesh 
pale orange, of good quality, but occasionally inclined to 
be somewhat acid. A pretty little melon, with curious 
markings, ripening with Masterpiece. Less desirable than 
Blenheim or Masterpiece. 

Monarch. A good-sized melon, with sparse markings, 
except about the blossom end ; dull yellow in color, not 
ribbed ; flesh described as thick and solid, red, of ex- 
cellent flavor. Ripens with Masterpiece. Our stock of 
this melon appears to have been mixed, and we have 
also grown a cross with Lockinge. Because of its vari- 
able character and somewhat unattractive appearance, we 
prize it less than some other varieties ; but it is probable 
that a pure stock would have given more satisfactory 
results. From one stock we got green-fleshed fruits of 
best quality. We do not know which is the true Monarch. 

Other varieties we have tested as follows : .Sutton 
A I, good size (a fruit picked January 26 weighed 2 lbs. 
3 ozs.), very prominently and beautifully barred, the flesh 
orange, quality of the very best ; Perfection, slightly fur- 
rowed and scarcely netted, green outside, the flesh green, 
but good and rich, though not so musky and aromatic 
as Masterpiece ; Sutton Scarlet, flesh red, of excellent 
quality ; Imperial, a rather soft, green-fleshed melon, 
but the best variety (in a lot of a dozen or more) 
tested in the season of 1895-6 (best fruit weighed i lb. 
14 ozs.); Windsor Castle, large (specimen picked Janu- 
ary 20 weighed 2 lbs. 6 ozs), with no ridges or bars (oc- 
casionally a vestige of bars), flesh green, quality fair to 
good. Amongst our own crosses. Masterpiece X Lock- 
inge is perhaps the best. It has a pale-red or sometimes 
lemon-colored flesh, and is somewhat variable in (juality, 
but generally very excellent. A sample of this fruit was 
sent to a connoisseur on the 15th of January, who wrote 



220 MUSKMELON. 

as follows: "The melon was by far the most toothsome 
article that has passed my lips this winter. Its flavor 
carried me back to early fall, and made me doubt my 
senses when I looked out of the window and saw snow 
on the ground, and saw by the calendar that we had 
begun the new year. I am greatly obliged to you for 
being able to satisfy a summer taste in midwinter." 

The varieties, then, which we chiefly recommend for 
forcing, are Blenheim] Orange, Hero of Lockinge, Mas- 
terpiece, Sutton A I, Imperial, with, perhaps, Emerald 
Gem for early. 

Yields and markets. — A good crop of melons in the 
winter months is an average of two to three fruits to the 
plant. This means that some plants must bear four or 
five melons, for there will almost certainly be some plants 
upon which no fruit can be made to set. The larger the 
fruits, the fewer each plant can mature. Four or five 
pounds of fruit to the vine is all that can reasonably be 
expected after November. In fall (that is, early Novem- 
ber or earher) and late spring crops, the grower should 
expect four to five melons to the plant (with the plants 
2 feet apart each way) ; this is about all that one can 
obtain, even from small varieties like Emerald Gem. Of 
the larger sorts, like Blenheim Orange, three or four 
fruits is a good crop. In midwinter, we have not yet 
been able to average above two good melons to the plant, 
at 2 feet apart each way. The fruits will continue to ripen 
for a week after they are picked. Ordinarily, if seeds 
of Emerald Gem, Blenheim Orange, Hero of Lockinge, 
or other early varieties, are sown August first, fruits may 
be expected early in November. If the fruits are desired 
in January, there should be two or three weeks' delay 
in sowing. All plants grow slowly in the short, dark 
days of midwinter. The novice should not attempt to 
secure fruits later than Christmas time, for the growing 
of melons should be undertaken cautiously at first. 

The market for forced muskmelons will always be 



INSECTS AND DISORDERS. 221 

limited. These fruits are in every sense luxuries. I 
doubt if one could grow them in winter for less than $i 
each, unless he did it upon a large scale. Good musk- 
melons in midwinter would bring almost any price, if 
placed before the right kind of consumers. 

Insects and diseases. — There have been three serious 
insect enemies to our winter melons — black aphis, mites 
( Tetranychiis biiiiaculatus) , and mealy-bug. The best 
method of dealing with these pests is to keep them off. 
It is a poor gardener who is always looking for some 
easy means of killing insects. If the plants are carefully 
watched and every difficulty met at its beginning, there 
will be no occasion for worrying about bugs. A fumi- 
gation with tobacco smoke, or with the extract, twice a 
week will keep away the aphis ; but if the fumigation 
is delayed until after the lice have curled up the leaves, 
the gardener will likely have a serious task in overcom- 
ing the pests, and the plants may be irreparably injured 
in the meantime. 

For mites, keep the house and plants as moist as 
possible. At all events, do not allow the plants to be- 
come so dry that they wilt, for this neglect will sap the 
vitality out of any plant, and it falls an easy prey to ene- 
mies. When the mites first appear upon the foliage, — if 
the gardener should be so unfortunate as to have them, 
— knock the pests off with a hard stream of water from 
the hose, or pick the affected leaves and burn them. If 
the plants become seriously involved, so that all the 
leaves are speckled-grey from the work of the minute 
pests on the under side, then destroy the plants. Melon 
plants which have become seriously checked from the 
attacks of insects or fungi are of no further use, and 
they may as well be destroyed first as last. 

Mealy-bugs are easily kept off by directing a fine, 
hard stream against them, when watering the house. 
When these bugs first appear, they usually congregate 
in the axils of the leaves, and a strong stream of water 



222 MUSKMELON. 

greatly disturbs their domestic arrangements. In one of 
our melon experiments, when the mealy-bug got a foot- 
hold, we picked them off with pincers. We went over 
the vines three times, at intervals, and eradicated the 
pests; and the labor of it — the vines were small — was 
much less than one would suppose. 

There are two troublesome fungous disorders of frame 
melons. One is the mildew {Erysiphe Cichoraceanun, or 
OidiiDH of earlier writers), which appears as whitish 
mold-like patches on the upper surface of the leaves. 
It also attacks cucumbers. It may be kept in check by 
evaporating sulphur in the house, as described on pages 
91 and 92. It is imperative that the sulphur do not 
take fire, for burning sulphur is fatal to plants. 

The second fungus is canker, or damping-ofif" (see 
page 84). This usually attacks the plants after they have 
attained some size in the benches, sometimes even when 
they are in fruit. The vine stops growing, turns yellow, 
and finally begins to wilt. If the plant is examined at 
the surface of the ground and just beneath the soil, 
the stem will be found to be brown, and perhaps some- 
what decayed, the bark sloughs off, and sometimes deep 
ulcers are eaten into the tissue. In this stage of the 
disease nothing can be done to save the plant. The 
treatment must be a preventive one. Keep the soil 
dry about the stem. Do not apply water directly at 
the root. In order to keep the soil dry, it is an ex- 
cellent plan to hill up the plant slightly. It is also 
well to strew clean, white sand about the plant to keep 
the surface of the soil and the stem dry. If a little sul- 
phur is mixed with the soil about the plant, the spread 
of the fungus will be checked. Some persons sprinkle 
lime about the plant to check the fungus. 

A most serious difficulty once appeared upon our mel- 
ons, and which we have called the house-blight (Fig. 79, 
page 223). The first visible injury to the leaves was the 
appearing of yellowish fungous-like si^ots or patches on 



HOUSE-BLIGHT OF THE MELON. 



223 



the leaves. These patches soon become dead, dry and 
translucent, and are often very numerous, as seen on 
the upper leaf in the picture. Finally the leaf wilts and 




79. Hous''-bIight of melon. The upper leaf just sliowijis: the at- 
tack {in the spots), the loiver one dead as it hangs on the vine. 



224 MUSKMELON. 

droops, and then shrivels and hangs on the stem, as 
seen in the lower leaf in Fig. 79. So far as our 
botanists have been able to determine, this disorder 
is not due to any fungus or parasite. It is a physio- 
logical disease. Fortunately, the cause of this attack 
was not far to seek. The melons were in a perfect 
state of health and vigor when, early in October, the 
gardener and myself went away for a few days. The 
house was left in charge of an attendant. The weather 
came off cloudy and damp. The house was over- wa- 
tered, the plants syringed, and the foliage went through 
the night dripping wet. The next day the house did 
not dry off. The second day, when I returned, I had 
fears that dire results would follow, although the foliage 
looked well. I had the temperature raised and the 
house dried off. In two or three days the spots began 
to appear on the foliage, and in spite of all our efforts 
a third or more of the leaves were ruined and the plants 
seriously checked. What promised to be the best crop 
of melons which we had ever raised turned out to be 
almost a failure. 



CHAPTER XII. 



MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS. 

There are various crops of secondary importance 
which thrive at temperatures which are acceptable to 
tomatoes, cucumbers and melons. The details of the 
management of the leading ones of these crops are 
here set forth. 

It is probable that okra may be forced with profit, 
for there is a good demand for the product in the New 
York market. I do not know that any one has had any 
practical experience with it as a forcing crop, but it is 
now being experimented upon at Cornell. 

Squashes and their kin can be grown under glass, 
but it is not probable that they can be made a com- 
mercial success (see page 6). 

Green corn has been tried in a desultory way at Cor- 
nell, but nothing has yet been made of it. 

BEAN. 

Bush beans are easily forced, and they constitute one 
of the best secondary winter crops. We ordinarily grow 
them upon cucumber, melon, or other benches while 
waiting for the cucumbers or melons to attain sufficient 
size in the pots for transplanting. We also grow them 
in 8-inch pots or in boxes, placing them here and there 
in the houses, wherever there is sufficient room and 
light. Beans will be ready for picking in six or eight 
weeks after sowing, in midwinter. Their demands are 
simple, yet exacting. They must have a rich, moist 

(225) 



226 



MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS. 



soil, strong bottom heat, and the more Hght the better. 
We cover our benches with about 8 inches of soil, the 
lower third of which is a layer of old sods. The top 
soil we make by adding about one part of well-rotted 
manure to two parts of rich garden loam. The soil 
must never be allowed to become dry, and especial 
care must be taken to apply enough water to keep the 
bottom of the soil moist, and yet not enough to make 
the surf^ice muddy. With the strong bottom heat which 
we use for beans, the soil is apt to become dry beneath. 











; 8o. A bench of Sion House winter beans. 



We once had a good illustration in our houses of the 
accelerating influence of bottom heat. One bench, to 
which no bottom heat was applied for the first three 
weeks, gave beans fit for picking on December 27. On 
another bench in the same house, to which heat was 
applied from the first, and upon which the same variety 
was sown at the same time, the second sowing of beans 
had been up for nearly two weeks at that date. The 
lack of bottom heat delayed the crop fully four weeks. 
The house should be light, and the benches should be 
near the glass. A good bench of beans is seen in Fig. 80. 



BEANS UNDER GLASS. 227 

If the benches are unoccupied, the beans may be 
planted on them directh', but if another crop is on 
them, the beans should be started in pots. We like to 
plant two or three beans in a 3-inch rose pot, and 
transplant to the benches just as soon as the roots fill 
the pot. 

The night temperature of a bean house ought not to 
fall below 60°. After the blossoms appear, give a lib- 
eral application of liquid manure every five or six days. 
The growth of beans should be continuous and rapid 
from the first, in order to secure a large crop of tender 
pods. The bean is self-fertile, and therefore no pains 
is necessary to ensure pollination, as in the case of to- 
matoes, and some other indoor crops. The house may 
be kept moist by sprinkling the walks on bright days. 

The essentials of a forcing bean are compact and 
rapid growth, earliness, productiveness, and long, straight 
and symmetrical pods. The Sion House answers these 
requirements the best of any variety which we have yet 
tried. It has green pods and party-colored beans. The 
cut (Fig. 80, page 226) shows with exactness an aver- 
age bench of Sion House. English growers recommend 
the Green Flageolet, and we have had good success with 
it ; but it is about a week later than Sion House, and 
it possesses no points of superiority. German Wax [Dzuarf 
German Black Wa.x') forces well, but the pods are too 
short and too crooked. It is also particularly liable to 
the attacks of the pod fungus. Newtown {Pride of New- 
towji) is too large and straggling in growth. 

For market, the beans are sorted and tied in bunches 
of 50 pods, as shown in Fig. 81 (page 228). These 
bunches bring varying prices, but from 25 to 50 cents 
may be considered an average. At these figures, with 
a good demand, forced beans pay well. Only two or 
three pickings of beans can be made profitable from one 
crop ; and in some cases all the marketable crop is gath- 
ered at one time. Much of the success of bean forcing, 

16 FORC. 



228 



MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS. 



as of all other winter gardening, consists in having new 
plants ready to take the place of the old ones. As soon 
as the old plants are removed, fork up the beds, add a 
liberal quantity of strong, short manure, and replant im- 
mediately. 

The enemies are few, red si-)ider and mite being the 
worst, and these are kept in check by maintaining a 
moist atmosphere. 




8i. Winter beans ready for market. 
EGGPLANT."^ 

The possibility of forcing eggplants successfully was 
suggested by a crop which was grown under glass in 
one of the market gardens near Boston, in the spring of 
1 89 1. These plants were not grown with the intention of 
forcing them ; but as the greenhouse was vacant at the 
time the main crop of eggplants was set out of doors, 
it was filled with plants taken from the same lot as those 
set in the open. The beds in which they were planted 
were solid ; that is, the prepared soil rested upon the 
natural surface of the ground, forming a layer from 12 to 
15 inches in depth. During the preceding winter these 
beds had served for growing lettuce, and they had con- 
c}uently been well enriched with stable manure, a fertil- 
izer which is especially effective in the production of 



* E. G. Lodeman, P)ulletiti g^, Cornell Exp. Sta. B illetin 26 of 
this Station is an account of the cultivation of eggplants in the field. 



BEHAVIOR OF EGGPLANTS. 229 

rapid growth. In July, when the plants grown under 
glass vv^ere compared with those planted in the open 
ground, an astonishing difference could be observed. 
Those set in the house were fully twice as large as the 
others ; the leaves were larger and the stems thicker 
than those generally found in the gardens of this lati- 
tude, and the abundance of healthy foliage was ample 
proof that the plants were subjected to conditions ex- 
tremely favorable to their growth. 

Another interesting j'xjint was soon noticed. Al- 
though the plants were blossoming very freely, still 
comparatively little fruit had set, and it appeared as if 
the entire energies of the plants had been directed to- 
wards the production of foliage at the expense of the 
fruit. This condition may perhaps be ascribed to two 
causes. Extreme activity of the vegetative functions of 
plants is frequently carried on at the expense of fruit 
production ; this fact is commonly illustrated by young 
fruit trees which blossom sometimes several years be- 
fore they set fruit. The growth of the eggplant men- 
tioned above was sufficiently luxuriant to suggest the 
possibility of its having some effect upon the fruiting 
powers of the plants. The second and perhaps most 
probable cause of this unsatisfactory fruiting may have 
been imperfect pollination. Insects, and especially bees, 
w'ere not working so freely in the house as outside, and 
later ex{:)erience has shown very clearly that in order to 
get a satisfactory crop from eggplants grown under glass 
thorough pollination must be practiced. The foliage was 
so dense that the flowers were for the most part hidden. 
In such a position tliey were necessarily surrounded by 
a comparatively damp atmosphere, especially when 
borne upon branches that were near the surface of the 
ground, and this would still further tend to interfere with 
the free transfer of pollen by any natural agencies. Un- 
der such conditions a profitable yield could scarcely be 
expected ; yet when carefully observed, the plants 



230 



MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS. 



proved to be so full of suggestions regarding the proper 
methods of treating them that they should have repaid 
the time given to their cultivation by a plentiful harvest of 
ideas, if not of fruits. The eggplant will generally set 
fruit without the assistance of pollen, but the fruit never 

attains its normal size. Fig. 
82 shows a non-pollinated 
fruit which has reached the 
limit of its size. The reader 
will be able to measure its 
size by noticing that the calyx 
covers almost half of it. The 
fruit from which this picture 
was made was about 4 inches 
long. 

Acting on the above hints, 
several attempts have been 
made to grow eggplants in 
our forcing-houses, with the 
object, however, of fruiting 
them out of season. The first 
lot of seed was sown August 
30, 1893. It embraced the 
82. Non-poiiinated fruit. following varieties : Black Pe- 

kin. New York Improved, Early Dwarf Purple, Round 
Purple, and Long White. The seed was sown about 
3/s of an inch deep in rich potting soil. The flats, or 
shallow boxes, which contained the seed were placed in 
a warm house, and the after-treatment was very similar 
to that commonly followed in the growing of tomatoes. 

The seedlings required pricking out about four weeks 
after the seed was sown. They were set in 2^-inch 
pots, where they remained until November m, when 
they were shifted into 4-inch pots. On December 17, 
or nearly 16 weeks from the time of seed sowing, the 
plants had filled these pots with roots, and they were 
again shifted, but this time into benches. They were 




EXPERIMENTS WITH EGGPLANTS. 23I 

set 2 feet apart each way. The soil was about 6 inches 
deep, and different in character in each of the two 
benches used. One bench had been filled with a mix- 
ture of equal parts of potting soil and manure from a 
spent mushroom bed. This formed a very open and 
rich soil, which appeared to be capable of producing a 
strong growth. The second bench received a rich, 
sandy loam, which had previously been composted with 
about one-fourth its bulk of stable manure. The tem- 
perature of the house was that usually maintained in 
growing plants reciiiiring a considerable amount of heat ; 
during the night the mercury fell to 65° or 60°, and in 
the day time it stood at 7o°-75°. In bright weather the 
house was still warmer. 

Considerable care was exercised in watering the 
plants, the soil being kept somewhat dry : when grown 
out of doors, eggplants withstand drought so well that 
such a course seemed advisable when growing them 
under glass. As the plants increased in size the leaves 
shaded the soil, and an occasional thorough watering 
maintained an excellent condition of moisture in the bed 
filled with the loam. In addition, the soil was stirred 
with a hand weeder when necessary. 

For some time all the varieties in each bench ap- 
peared to be doing uniformly well, but the plants set in 
the sandy loam made a stronger growth and appeared 
to be more vigorous. This was especially noticeable in 
Early Dwarf Purple and New York Improved. The first 
bloom appeared on the former during the last week in 
December, and on the 3d of January, 1894, several plants 
showed flowers that were well opened. These were 
hand pollinated, and they set fruit freely. On February 
15 some of these fruits were 2^ inches long, the plants 
still growing well and producing many blossoms. It 
was at this time that the first flowers of Black Pekin 
appeared, but New York Improved had not yet pro- 
duced any, although it was making a strong growth. 



232 



MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS. 



Round Purple and Long White were making a very 
slow and weak growth. 

A plant of Early Dwarf Purple that was photographed 
May 29 is shown in Fig. 83. It was bearing at this time 
21 fruits of varying sizes, and appeared to be strong 
enough to mature fruits from buds that were still form- 
ing. The larger fruits were fully 4 inches in diameter, 
and nearly 6 inches long. They were not removed as 
soon as grown, as should be dune in order to get as 




<Sj. Early Dwarf Purple eggplant in winter. 



large a yield as possible, and for this reason the product 
of the plant is the more remarkable. All the fruits did 
not attain the size mentioned above, for the crop was 
too heavy for the plant to mature it properly ; neither 
were all the plants of this variety equally prolific, al- 
though their yield in many cases closely approached 
that shown in the illustration. This variety proved to 
be by far the most promising of those grown for forcing 
purposes, and it appears to be capable of producing 



VARIETIES OF EGGPLANTS. 



233 



crops which rival those grown out of doors. It is also 
the earliest variety tested, a point which is of the great- 
est importance. The eggplant is slow in coming to 
maturity, even under the most favorable circumstances. 
The above piiotograph was taken nine months from the 
time of sowing the seed, but a cutting of fruit might 
have been made fully six weeks earlier. This set fruit 
more freely than any other variety, and in nearly every 
desirable respect was superior to them. This Early 




84 sprays of Early Dwarf Purple eggplant. 

Dwarf Purple, as grown in the field, is shown in F'ig. 84. 
New York Improved was a very strong grower, and 
produced large, handsome fruits. Unfortunately, but 
few could be obtained from a plant, and the total yield 
was, therefore, comparatively small, only four or five 
maturing on the best plants. It is also considerably 
later than the Early Dwarf Purple. The New York Im- 



234 



MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS. 



proved, as grown out of doors, is seen in Fig. 85. In 
the house the plant may be expected to be taller in pro- 
portion to its breadth. 

Black Pekin on the whole closely resembled the pre- 
ceding, especially in the manner of its growth. But it 
set scarcely any fruit, and that was so late that none 
was matured before 10 months from the time of seed- 
sowiniT. 




^^^-s 



8s. Field-grown plant of New York hnproved eggplant. 

Long White proved to be a weak grower of very 
slender habit. It was also very late, the fruits being 
scarcely over 2 inches in length May 29. The plants of 
this variety were slightly checked when young, and this 
may have had a certain influence in delaying the ma- 
turity of the crop, although the effect was probably not 
very great. One desirable feature of this variety is its 
smooth foliage, which appeared to be unfavorable for 
the development and persistence of some of the insects 



VARIETIES OF EGGPLANTS. 235 

that attack greenhouse plants. But the lateness of the 
variety and the few fruits produced by it will prevent it 
from being profitably grown under glass. 

Round Purple proved to be the most unsatisfactory 
grower. All the plants showed symptoms of being in 
unfavorable quarters, and the test with this variety re- 
sulted in almost total failure. 

Later attempts to force eggplants have been made, 
although no duplicate of the above experiment has been 
planned. The crops were started later in the season, 
when more sunlight and heat were present. These 
trials have thrown light upon some of the doubtful points 
of former experiments, and have shown that it is possi- 
ble to force eggplants in winter. New York Improved 
eggplants are seen on the side in Fig. 71 (page 206). 
The seeds for these were sown fuly 20, the young plants 
shifted to 3-inch pots on August 28, and planted in the 
bench September 13. When the picture was taken 
(October 3) tiower buds were just beginning to show. 
The plants are standing 18 inches apart each way in al- 
ternate rows, which is too close. 

One of the results obtained is of special interest in 
this connection. Some Early Dwarf Purple plants were 
started early in August, and some of the seedlings were 
grown in houses in which different degrees of tempera- 
ture were maintained. The plants grown in an interme- 
diate or moderately warm house made but little growth, 
and were soon stunted and worthless. This showed con- 
clusively that eggplants require a high temperature for 
their rapid and vigorous development. Other plants 
were placed in each of two warm houses, one of which 
was shaded by means of a thin coat of whitewash upon 
the glass. The plants in the other house were exposed 
to direct sunlight, and they were also subjected to a 
bottom heat of scarcely 5 degrees. Although the air 
temperature of the two houses was practically identical, 
the plants receiving the sunlight grew fully twice as fast 



236 MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS. 

as the others, and had open blossoms before those in 
the shaded house showed any buds. When some of 
the latter were removed into the same favored position, 
they very soon showed a benefit from the change. In 
this way the plants themselves emphasized the neces- 
sity of plenty of sunshine for their development in win- 
ter quarters ; and a certain amount of bottom heat, from 
4 to 6 degrees, is also very beneficial, the air tempera- 
ture at the same time being that of a warm house. 

Eggplants designed for forcing should never be 
stunted. An important aid to prevent this condition is 
a soil which is open and still rich in available nitrogen. 
A rich, sandy loam, in which all the ingredients are 
well rotted, is preferable to one having the manure in 
an undecayed condition. The latter is too open, and 
is more difficult to maintain in a proper supply of 
moisture. The soil should be sufficiently open to afford 
good drainage, but not so coarse that it dries out very 
rapidly. The bench mentioned at the beginning of the 
article as containing manure from a spent mushroom 
bed did not prove so satisfactory as the one containing 
the sandy loam, largely because it was more difficult to 
manage. 

Another point which should not be overlooked in 
forcing eggplants is the pollination of the flowers. This 
is most satisfactorily done by hand, the small number 
of insects found in greenhouses during the colder 
months being of very little use in this respect. The 
work can be done rapidly by means of a small, flat 
piece of metal, such as can be made by flattening the 
point of a pin with a hammer, and then inserting the 
other end into a small stick, which will serve as a han- 
dle. Such a spatula is also very convenient in nearly all 
kinds of pollination made by hand, as it is so readily 
kept clean of foreign pollen. In the center of the flower 
will be seen the stigma, which projects beyond the tips 
of the ring of anthers or pollen-bearing organs which 



POLLINATION. ENEMIES. 237 

surround it. If au anther is separated and closely ex- 
amined, it will l)e seen that there are two small openings 
at the tip ; it is through these that the pollen normally 
escapes. But this escape does not take place freely un- 
til the flower has matured to such an extent that the 
tips of the anthers stand erect and recede from the 
stigma, leaving the latter standing unsupported. The 
pollen can be most rapidly gathered upon the spatula 
by inserting the point of the metal into the side of the 
anther and opening it by an upward movement of the 
instrument. In this manner a large quantity of pollen 
may be gathered very rapidly, and it is the work of but 
an instant to press it upon the end of the stigma. One 
such treatment, if performed when the surface of the 
stigma is adhesive, is sufficient for each blossom. 

Eggplants are subject to the attacks of all the com- 
mon greenhouse pests, but if care is exercised from the 
JDeginning, no serious damage need be feared. Green- 
fly is easily overcome by tobacco smoke, or the fumes of 
tobacco extract, while mealy-bug can be overcome by 
well-directed streams of water. The foliage of eggplants 
is not easily injured by such applications of water, and 
the insects may be dislodged with impunity as often as 
they appear. Tiie worst pests of eggplant foliage are 
the red spider and his near relative, the mite. The lat- 
ter is especially difficult to treat, as it is not so much 
affected by moisture as the red spider is, and for this 
reason it cannot be so readily overcome. The rough 
foliage of the eggplant is especially well adapted to the 
lodgment of these mites, and when they have once be- 
come established, their extermination is practically im- 
possible. Too much care, therefore, cannot be taken in 
watching for the first appearance of these scourges, and 
in destroying them as soon as discovered. It is well to 
apply water freely to the foliage, even before the insects 
appear, for the leaves do not immediately sliow their 
presence, and such applications will do no harm. The 



238 MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS. 

Long White does not suffer from these insects so much 
as the other varieties, since it has comparatively smooth 
leaves, which do not afford a very secure retreat. Never- 
theless, it will bear watching as well as the others. The 
water that is applied should be directed mainly toward 
the under surface of the leaves, as the mites are here 
found in the greatest abundance, and these parts are also 
most difficult to reach. 

The returns to be derived from eggplants grown in 
greenhouses cannot yet be estimated, since to my knowl- 
edge no such products have ever been placed upon the 
market. The first fruits from the south command a 
good price, but whether the home-grown article will 
meet with such favor that it will repay the cost of the 
long period of growth cannot be told. The Dwarf Purple 
variety may be depended upon to give the earliest and 
surest results, but if bigger fruits are desired, the New 
York Improved promises to be the best. The fruits 
ought to sell in midwinter for 50 cents each, and if they 
are very large and fine, for more than this. The experi- 
ment of eggplant forcing from a commercial standpoint 
is well worth trving. 



PEPPER, OR CAPSICUM. 

Red peppers are a most satisfactory crop for winter, 
so far as the growing of them is concerned. They force 
readily, yield abundantly, and are nearly free of insects 
and fungous injuries. The large, puffy fruits are in de- 
mand, just as they reach their full size and while yet 
green, for the making of stuffed peppers, a delicacy 
which is much esteemed in restaurants and hotels. The 
so-called "sweet peppers" are the kinds sought, such 
as Sweet Mountain (which we consider to be the best 
for forcing), Procopp, Bell, Golden Dawn, and the like. 
If the fruits sell for 5 cents each (and this is a common 



PEPPERS UNDER GLASS, 



239 




Sy- A good type of pepber for winter forcing 



240 



MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS. 



price), the o^rovver ought to be a1)le to make his ex- 
penses; and if he secures more, as he often can, the 
growing of them should be fairly remunerative ; but he 
will likely find that the peppers which are shipped in 
from the south nearly all winter are most unwelcome 
competitors in the general market. A plant shoukl bear 
half a dozen good fruits, which it can do if well grown 
and if the fruits are picked just as soon as they are 
tit for market. 

In winter, about three and a half months are required 
from the seed to the first saleable fruit, but the plants 

need not be on the 
benches more than half 
or two-thirds of that 
time. They are usually 
started in flats, pricked 
off into 3-inch pots and 
turned out of these pots 
(when in the condition 
shown in Fig. 86) di- 
rectly into the bench. 
In one of our experi- 
ments, seeds of the Sweet 
Mountain were sown July 
20, plants put into pots 
August 28, set in the 
bench September 14, and 
gave the first picking 
(one frut't to the plant) on October 21. Thty require 
a long^ -time than this later in the season. A bench 
3 feeirAvide will grow two rows of peppers, the plants 
standing a foot apart in the row. Earlier results can 
be secured by growing the plants in 6-inch pots, but the 
crop will generally be less and the fruits smaller. We 
think that peppers like an intermediate temperature, — 
a little cooler than for melons, — although we have had 
good results in growing them along the edge of a bench 




S'6. Peppp- plant ready to transplant. 



THE CYPHOMANDRA OR TREE TOMATO. 24I 

ill which melons were growing at tlie same time. The 
flowers do not need pollinating. The fruits set of them- 
selves, and are more or less seedless. 

CYPHOMANDRA. 

In 1886 Peter Henderson & Co. advertised seeds of 
the Tree Tomato of Jamaica. I procured seeds and 
grew the plants. The results of the effort, as published 
at the time,* were as follows: "The so-called Tree To- 
mato of Jamaica was reared from seeds last year, and 
two i)lants were carried over winter in the greenhouse. 
They were potted out in the spring. They grew well, 
attaining a height of 8 feet. They blossomed profuselv 
during the fall, but did not set fruit. We shall carry 
them over another year. This curious plant is a native 
of tropical America, a member of the Solanum family, 
though not a tomato. It is Cyphoiiiandra bctacca. It 
has been widely distributed through the troj^ics of late 
years. The fruit more nearly resembles an eggplant 
fruit than a tomato. We have also grown it this year 
from seeds from Peru, which were sent us as the 
' Chileno Tomato.' Of course the plant is valueless 
in this climate." 

I lost the plant until three years ago, when I secured 
seed again from southern California, and as this book 
goes to the printer two tree-like plants growing together, 
7 feet high, and with a spread of 4 feet, bear their crop 
of 46 curious, egg-like fruits (shown two-thirds natural 
size in Fig. 88, page r42). The plants are three years 
old, and were once cut back to stumps. The plants — 
and we had others — bloomed profusely the second 
year from seed, but no amount of hand pollination 
would make the flowers set fruit. The present crop was 
not hand-pollinated, but the fruits are full of seeds. 



* Bulletin 31, Michigan Agric. College, lo (1SS7). 



242 MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS, 




SS. Fruit and foliage 0/ cyphomatidra. Two-lkirds Jtatural size. 



THE CYPHOMANDRA. 243 

They set in the summer when the house was thrown 
open, but I suspect that the flowers are self-fertile. The 
fruits measure almost uniformly 2 inches long and 1% 
inches wide. The color when ripe is a light, clear, red- 
dish brown, shading into dull olive-green towards the 
stem, and sparingly streaked with olive-green. In ex- 
ternal features the fruits strongly resemble small speci- 
mens of pepino. The fruit is two-celled, like a small 
tomato, and has numerous tomato-like seeds on central 
placentae. The flavor is a musky acidity, not very un- 
like that of some tomatoes. Theodosia B. Shepherd, of 
southern California, writes in American Gardeimig for 
July II, 1896 (and gives a picture), as follows, of the 
quality of the fruit, which, she says, is sometimes called 
Brazilian Melon Fruit: "When fully ripe, it is deli- 
cious. When the outer rind is taken ofif, and it is sliced, 
it can be served as a salad, with dressing, or eaten with 
sugar and cream. It makes a fine jelly or jam, with the 
flavor of apricots, but more delicate. The ripe fruit does 
not bruise easily, because of the thick outer rind, so 
that it keeps a long time, and can be shipped long dis- 
tances." 

The leaves of this cyphomandra are large and heavy, 
heart-shaped, and perfectly entire. The plant has a trop- 
ical look, and a well-grown plant is always sure to attract 
attention. The plant is much loved of the mealy-bug, but 
we have found no fungi attacking it. We do not know 
what forcing temperature best suits this plant, but I 
imagine that it likes a cooler place than tomatoes do. 

The cyphomandra fruit is sometimes seen in the New 
York markets, coming from Jamaica, and is often called 
Grenadilla. In the tropics, the fruit is eaten either raw or 
cooked, after the manner of tomatoes. The plant there 
attains a height of 10 or 12 feet. In Spanish America it 
is said to be known as tomato de ta Paz. The plant is 
a native of South America, it having been introduced into 
British gardens from southern Brazil by Tweedie, who 

17 FORC. 



244 MISCELLANEOUS WARM PLANTS. 

sent it to the Botanical Garden at Glasgow. It was 
figured, without fi"uit. in 1839 in Botanical Magazine 
(t. 3684), with a description by Sir W. J. Hooker. At that 
time it was known as Solamitn fragrans. The genus 
Cyphomandra was separated from Solanum by Martius in 
1845. The latest account of the genus Cyphomandra 
admits 38 species, all South American. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



SUMMARIES OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE 
VARIOUS CROPS. 

ASPARAGUS. 

Asparagus is customarily forced from roots which 
have been allowed to reach the age of four years or more 
in the field. These roots are removed to the forcing- 
house, and after being forced once are thrown away 
(pages 127, 130). 

The roots are dug late in fall, and are stored in a 
cold cellar or a shed until they are wanted for forcing. 
They are usually covered with straw, but freezing is not 
injurious if they remain moist (page 130). 

The clumps are generally forced under benches, in a 
temperature suited to lettuce or cauliflower. High tem- 
peratures give quick results, but the shoots are generally 
more slender and spindling (page 131). 

The clumps are packed close together upon 2 or 3 
inches of earth and covered with about 3 or 4 inches of 
loose earth. In two to three weeks, edible shoots will 
appear, and the cutting may continue for five to eight 
weeks. The amount and value of the crop will depend 
largely upon the strength of the clumps (pages 131, 132). 

BEAN. 

Beans are very easily forced for the green pods 
("string beans"). They may be grown to maturity in 
pots or boxes which are set in vacant places about the 

(245) 



246 MANAGEMENT OF THE VARIOUS CROPS. 

house, or they may occupy benches either as a leading 
crop or as a catch crop with cucumbers, melons, or to- 
matoes (page 225). 

The soil for beans should be rich and " quick." We 
use 6 to 8 inches of soil placed upon benches, making it 
of garden loam and nearly or quite one-quarter of very 
thoroughly rotted manure (page 225). 

The temperature for beans should be approximately 
that for cucumbers, — 60° to 65° at night, and 10 to 15 de- 
grees higher during the day. The plants should have 
strong bottom heat (pages 226, 227). 

A good forcing bean is one which is early and pro- 
ductive, compact in habit, and which bears long, straight 
and symmetrical pods. We prefer the Sion House bean, 
a green-podded variety (page 227). 

Six or eight weeks are required from the sowing of 
the seeds to the first picking (page 225). 

Beans are self-fertile, and hand pollination is, therefore, 
unnecessary (page 227). 

House beans are usually marketed in neat bunches 
(Fig. 81), containing 50 pods. In special and personal 
markets, the pods should bring from ^ cent to i cent 
each (page 227). 

Not more than three good pickings can be expected 
from any crop, and very often it is not profitable to re- 
tain the plants after a single picking (page 227). 

The leading enemies of beans are red spider and 
mites. Keep the foliage moist if attack is feared (page 
228). 

BEET, CARROT. 

Beets require such a long season, and yield so little 
profit, that they are rarely grown as a main crop in forc- 
ing-houses. They are commonly grown between late cu- 
cumbers or tomatoes. Seeds are generally sown in flats, 
and the young plants are 'pricked out into rows between 
the other crops. If grown by themselves, beets require a 



CAULIFLOWER — CELERY — CRESS. 247 

lettuce-house temperature (page 145). Carrot is treated in 
the same way, but is rarely forced for market. 

CAULIFLOWER. 

Cauliflower demands a low temperature (about 50° at 
night and 10 to 15 degrees higher in the day), and a 
solid bed (page 11 1). 

Four to five months from the seed are required in 
which to get marketable heads. The plants should be 
transplanted at least once before they are set in their 
permanent quarters. They should be planted about 16 
inches apart each way (pages iii, 112). 

The plants must be kept growing uniformly, else the 
heads will "button" (pages 109, 112, 113). 

The Snowball and Early Erfurt strains are good for 
forcing (pages 112, 113, 114). 

The cauliflower may be troubled with aphis or green- 
fly, but it has developed no other serious diseases or 
difficulties under glass, unless possibly, in common with 
all plants, a facility for damping-off (page iii). 

CELERY. 

Celery may be forced by starting the seed in fall or 
very early winter, and holding the plants back until 
spring. Early in March (or in February), the plants are 
put in solid beds (in a lettuce or carnation house) 8 to 10 
inches apart, and they are then set into rapid growth. 
The plants are bleached by tying them up in stiff", hard 
paper (page 139). 

CRESS. 

Water-cress grows readily on moist ground under- 
neath benches in a cool or intermediate house (page 141). 

Garden-cress may be grown in beds or on benches 
which are suited to the raising of lettuce. The seeds are 
commonly sown where the plants are to stand (page 142). 



248 MANAGEMENT OF THE VARIOUS CROPS. 

CUCUMBER. 

Forcing cucumbers are of two types, the English or 
frame kinds, and the White Spine kinds. The former are 
characterized by very large size, partial or complete ab- 
sence of spines, more or less seedlessness, very ram- 
pant growth of vine, tardiness in coming into fruit, and a 
long-continuing period of bearing. The White Spine type 
is more commonly forced for market in this country 
(pages 184, 194). 

The English cucumbers like a temperature of about 60° 
or 65° at night, and of 70° to 75° at day (page 186). 

It is exceedingly important that the vines should be 
kept in a uniform and vigorous condition of growth from 
the start, but avoid pushing them very much in dull 
weather. English cucumbers are gross feeders, and must 
have a rich soil (page 186). 

From 80 to 100 days are required, in winter, from the 
sowing of the seed of English cucumbers to the securing 
of the fruit. The plants must have good bottom heat 
(page 189). 

The plants are started in pots (3-inch rose pots being 
excellent), which are at first only a third or half full of 
earth. From these pots the plants are turned directly into 
the benches, where they should stand about 2>^ by 3 ft. 
apart. When in the pots, the plants must never be 
allowed to become checked, and they must be kept free 
of aphis (page 187). 

The plants are trained upon a wire trellis, or some- 
times on the roof Usually two or three strong branches 
or leaders are allowed to each plant, and a few strong 
side shoots are taken out of each leader. All weak 
growths are pinched out (page 188). 

Leading varieties of English cucumbers are Sion 
House, Telegraph, Edinburgh, and Blue Gown (page 
190). 

It is generally necessary, to insure a crop, to hand- 



DANDELION — EGGPLANT. 249 

pollinate English cucumbers, although fruits will often 
set without this labor and will be, therefore, wholly seed- 
less (page 195). 

White Spine cucumbers are forced in essentially the 
same way as the English sorts, but they are oftener 
grown as a spring crop (following lettuce or plant stock) 
than the others are. They come into bearing sooner, 
ripen their fruits more simultaneously, demand full sun- 
light, and may be planted rather closer together than 
the others (page 201). 

The White Spine types should mature the entire crop 
in about three months after the plants are set in the 
benches. A plant will yield from 20 to 90 fruits, depend- 
ing upon the management of the house, the strength of 
the soil, the distance apart of the plants, and the thor- 
oughness with which the fruits are picked when fit for 
market (page 202). 

Cucumber enemies are the mite, aphis, root-gall, and 
mildew. For the mite, syringe the plants and pick off 
the infested leaves ; for aphis, use tobacco fumigation and 
pick infested leaves ; for root-gall, use soil which has 
been thoroughly frozen ; for mildew, improve the sani- 
tary conditions, and then use sulphur (page 200). 

DANDELION. 

Dandelion is sometimes forced from roots which are 
lifted in the fall, the seeds having been sown in the 
spring. The plant requires about the same temperature 
and treatment as lettuce does (page 143). 

EGGPLANT. 

Eggplants are not forced for market, but the plants 
can be grown under glass without especial difficulty. 
Their season is long (5 to 9 months), and eggplant fruits 
come in from the south in winter (pages 228, 233, 235). 

The plants should be started in flats or pots, and 



250 MANAGEMENT OF THE VARIOUS CROPS. 

transplanted two or three times before going into perma- 
nent quarters. The temperature, soil and general treat- 
ment should be essentially the same as for tomatoes. 
They must have bottom heat and full sunlight (pages 230, 

235)- 

Eggplants should stand about 2 feet apart each way if 
the coarse-growing varieties are grown, and 20 inches if 
the Early Dwarf Purple is grown (pages 230, 235). 

Fruits will set without hand-pollination (Fig. 82), but 
they will not grow to marketable size. Instructions for 
pollination are given on pages 236 and 237. 

Early Dwarf Purple is the earliest and most productive 
variety for forcing, but the fruits are small. Our second 
choice is New York Improved (pages 232 to 235). 

Eggplant is loved of the green-fly, mealy-bug, red 
spider, and mite. The spider and mite are its most 
ardent admirers, and they must be freely baptized if it is 
desired to keep them off (page 237). 

LETTUCE. 

There are two general kinds or types of forcing let- 
tuce, that which forms more or less solid heads (Fig. 34"), 
and that which remains open and leafy (Figs. 32, 33). 
The former is more prized in New England and other 
eastern markets. It is more difficult to grow to perfec- 
tion than the leafy type is, and is particularly subject to 
influence by the soil. 

I^ettuce demands a night temperature of about 45°, and 
never higher than 50°, and a day temperature of about 
55° to 65° (page 94). 

Solid or ground beds are most satisfactory for the 
growing of lettuce. Upon benches, more care is required 
in growing the crop, and the difficulties are aggravated if 
the bench has bottom heat (page 94). 

Good lettuce may also be grown in pots, and thereby 
be marketed with a good ball of earth attached. This 



LETTUCE. 251 

method is little used, however (Fig. 33, page 99). 

The character of the soil has very much to do u^ith 
the ease of growing lettuce, and also with the quality of 
the crop. Good lettuce soils should be very open and 
porous (made so by the presence of sand and the absence 
of clay), with a capacity to hold much water, but an 
ability, nevertheless, to remain comparatively dry on top 
(page 96). 

The electric light has a marked effect in hastening the 
maturity of lettuce (pages 80, loi). 

A lettuce crop matures in seven to ten weeks if the 
seed is sown in September. In the winter months, two 
to four weeks longer may be required (page loi). 

The first sowing (in early September) may be made in 
the open, but subsequent ones are made in flats or in 
vacant' places in the beds (or possibly in hotbeds). Best 
results are obtained if the plants are transplanted twice, 
once into other flats or into temporary beds (about 4 
inches apart each way), and again into their permanent 
quarters, where they should stand about 8 inches apart 
each way (pages loi, 102). 

Leading varieties are the Boston Market (or White- 
seeded Tennis Ball) and Grand Rapids. The former is a 
heading lettuce (Fig. 34), and the latter non-heading (Fig. 
32). There are several other good varieties (page 104). 

Aphis or green-fly is held in check by keeping the 
plants in a uniform condition of vigorous and healthy 
growth, and then by fumigating with tobacco or by strew- 
ing tobacco stems amongst the plants (page 104). 

The rot is worst in soils which remain wet on top and 
which contain much manure or decaying matter. Keep- 
ing the temperature high and the house very wet also 
favors it (page 105, Fig. 35). 

The mildew is worst in houses which are kept very 
close and warm and wet. It is most frequent when 
draughts are allowed to strike the plants. When it ap- 
pears, evaporate sulphur (first, however, improving the 



252 MANAGEMENT OF THE VARIOUS CROPS. 

sanitary conditions), taking care not to let the sulphur 
catch fire (page io6). 

Leaf-burn or top-burn is the result of bad sanitary 
conditions, being especially favored by a soil which holds 
too much water ; al30 by insufficient care in ventilating 
and watering in dull weather. It is most harmful in the 
heading varieties (page io6). 

MINTS. 

Sage and spearmint may be forced from plants trans- 
planted to the house in the fall ; or, better, established 
beds may be covered. They require a lettuce-house tem- 
perature (page 143). 

MUSKMELON. 

Melons, when raised under glass, are generally grown 
for a late fall or early spring crop. For midwinter use, 
they are practically unknown, because the quality is gen- 
erally poor (page 204). 

Muskmelons may be ripened in full normal quality in 
midwinter, however, if given much heat (65° to 70° at 
night, and 80° to 85° at midday), if the soil is strong (par- 
ticularly in mineral fertilizer), if the plants are never 
allowed to become checked, and if the soil is kept dry 
when the fruits are ripening (page 205). 

Houses which are adapted to winter cucumbers and 
tomatoes are also adapted to melons. The plants are 
grown only on benches, at least for the winter crops, and 
are given ample bottom heat. They need unshaded roofs 
(page 207). 

The soil for melons may be well-rotted sods from an 
old pasture, with some thoroughly composted manure, 
worked into it. If the soil is naturally rich in nitrogen 
(tending to make plants run to vine), stable manure 
should be used very sparingly, or not at all. The soil on 
the bench may be from 5 to 7 inches deep (page 207). 



MUSKMELON. 253 

Melon seeds are started in 2-inch or 3-inch pots, only 
one plant being allowed to grow in each pot. The plants 
are transferred to 4-inch pots, and then to the benches. 
If the plants become stunted, they are worthless (page 
210). 

In benches 4 feet wide, the plants may be set 2>^ feet 
apart in two rows ; or they may be set 18 inches apart in 
a single row. When only a single row is used, the row 
may be set near one side of the bench and a part of the 
wide side left unfilled ; in this unfilled portion the soil is 
added at intervals, thus affording new forage as it may 
be needed. It is always well to set twice as many plants 
in the bed as will be needed, in order to insure against 
losses from accidents, damping-off, and the like (page 
209). 

The plants are headed-in as soon as they are estab- 
lished in their permanent quarters, in order to make them 
branch and to set them into fruit-bearing. Three or four 
main arms are trained out fan-shaped on a wire trellis, 
and each one is headed-in when 4 or 5 feet high. All 
blind and fine shoots must be kept off. Some growers 
allow the main stem to grow straight up, and take out 
side branches from it (page 211). 

The fruits hang free, and are supported in slings of 
soft broad cord, or in swings (Figs. 73,77, page 211). 

Melon flowers must be pollinated by hand. The first 
two or three pistillate flowers are not pollinated, for if 
one fruit is set much in advance of the other flowers it 
will absorb the attention of the vine, and it will be found 
to be very difficult to set other fruits (page 214). 

We have found good forcing varieties to be Blenheim 
Orange, Hero of Lockinge, Masterpiece, Sutton A i, Im- 
perial, and Emerald Gem. There are numerous other 
acceptable varieties (page 215). 

An average of two good melons to a plant is a good 
crop in midwinter. In fall and spring, four and five fruits 
may be obtained (page 220). 



254 MANAGEMENT OF THE VARIOUS CROPS. 

Insects troubling melons are aphis and mealy-bug, es- 
pecially the latter. Fumigate with tobacco for the aphis, 
and knock off the mealy-bug with a hard stream of water. 
Mites are also serious on house melons. For these, keep 
the foliage well syringed (page 221). 

Diseases of house melons are mildew and damping- 
off. For the former, improve the sanitary conditions, and 
then use sulphur. For damping-off, or canker, keep the 
earth dry about the crown of the plant, and use soils 
which do not remain wet and pasty on top. House-blight 
is a name which we have given to a physiological trouble 
(Fig. 79), which arises when the plants are allowed to go 
through the night wet, especially when other sanitary con- 
ditions are bad (page 222). 

PARSLEY. 

Parsley is forced from roots taken to the house in the 
fall, and which are raised from spring-sown seeds. Treat 
essentially the same as for lettuce (page 142). 

PEA. 

Both dwarf and tall peas may be forced. The former 
give earlier results, but the larger and better yields are 
obtained from the half-tall varieties. Varieties like Rural 
New-Yorker will mature in 70 to 80 days from the seed 
in winter. The temperature should be as low as for let- 
tuce. Peas may be grown in solid beds or in boxes 
placed amongst other plants. Peas yield little, and they 
are rarely forced for market (page 135). 

PEPINO. 

The pepino is a solanum, something like eggplant, 
which may be forced in a cool house. It is a sub-shrub, 
and is propagated by cuttings. Cuttings taken in March 
may be expected to bear the next January or February. 



PEPPER RADISH. 255 

It is best to grow the plants in pots or boxes. The plant 
is little known in this country, but it is no doubt worthy 
of considerable attention (page 146). 

PEPPER. 

Red peppers are very easily forced, and if one can get 
5 cents or more apiece for the fruits he should be able to 
grow them for the winter market. The southern-grown 
product is cheaper, however, and scarcely inferior (page 
238). 

Peppers need bottom heat, a little cooler temperature 
than melons, but hand-pollination seems to be unnec- 
essary (pages 240, 241). 

The plants are handled like tomato plants, and about 
3>^ months are required, from the seed-sowing, in which 
to get the first fruits. The plants may stand a foot apart 
in the row, and 2 rows can go on a 3-ft. bench (page 
240). 

We like the Sweet Mountain best for forcing. Only 
the large and puffy, or "sweet," peppers are forced 
(page 238). 

RADISH. 

Radishes require to be grown quickly, else they are 
worthless. About 35 to 40 days is required to mature 
the crop, from the time of sowing the seed (pages 115, 

123). 

The proper temperature for radishes is 45° to 50° at 
night, and 55° to 65° at day (pages 118, 125). 

Radish seed is commonly sown where the plants are 
to stand. The smaller varieties may be grown in drills 
which are only 3 inches apart, but most varieties need 4 
or 5 inches between the rows. The plants should be 
thinned to nearly or quite 2 inches apart in the row. 
Uniformly large seeds give the surest and most uniform 
results (pages 115, 117, 122). 



256 MANAGEMENT OF THE VARIOUS CROPS. 

Solid beds should be used for radishes, and the house 
should be light and airy. If benches are used, they 
should have no bottom heat (pages 116, 119, 122). 

The soil should be warm and quick, with an ordinary 
amount of sand, and no coarse manure. It should be 
made rich by working old manure thoroughly into it. 
The short radishes will thrive in 4 inches of soil, but bet- 
ter results with most kinds will be obtained in 6 to 8 
inches (pages 116, 122). 

The varieties are many. Amongst those which may 
be commended are Ne Plus Ultra, Roman Carmine, Prus- 
sian Globe, New Rapid Forcing, French Breakfast, New 
Crystal Forcing, and Long Scarlet Short-top. The turnip- 
shaped kinds are usually preferable (pages 120, 124). 

RHUBARB. 

Rhubarb or pie-plant is forced in essentially the same 
manner as asparagus (which see). The roots of mature 
plants are dug in the fall, and they are bedded in hotbeds 
or underneath benches in a cool or intermediate house, 
being covered with 2 to 6 inches of soil (page 134). 

SPINACH. 

Spinach is now rarely forced under glass, because the 
crop can be more cheaply grown in the south. It is 
handled in essentially the same manner that lettuce is 
(page 142). 

TOMATO. 

The tomato is rapidly assuming great importance as a 
commercial forcing crop. It is often profitable even in 
the face of the competition of the early crop from the 
south (page 153). 

For winter crops, the best results are obtained in 
houses which are used primarily for tomato growing, but 
spring crops may be advantageously grown following car- 



TOMATO. 257 

nations or winter lettuce. The house should be warm 
and very bright, with at least 5 or 6 feet of head room 
above each bench (pages 153, 8). 

The temperature for tomatoes should be about 60° to 
65° at night, and about 75° at day (page 154). 

The soil should be rich, but the manure which is used 
in the earth should be well rotted and broken down. 
Rich, rather loose garden loam, to which a fourth or fifth 
of the bulk of fine manure is added, makes an ideal soil. 
Liquid manure may need to be applied when the plants 
come into bearing (pages 154, 53). 

Tomatoes should always have bottom heat, unless, 
perhaps, for the late spring or early summer crop. They 
are grown in both benches and boxes, nearly all com- 
mercial growers preferring the former because of their 
cheapness. The benches contain from 6 to 8 inches of 
soil (page 157). 

House tomatoes are grown both from seeds and cut- 
tings, and both methods are in common use. When 
made from strong, healthy shoots the cuttings are prob- 
ably in every way as good as seedlings, and they usually 
bear sooner ; but cuttings are likely to perpetuate a weak- 
ness of a plant, and they are apt to give only indifferent 
results when taken from old and partially exhausted 
plants. On the whole, seedlings are probably preferable 
(page 155). 

The second crop of the season (coming on in late 
winter) may be obtained either from new seedling plants, 
from cuttings, from a shoot trained out from the old 
stump, or by burying the old stem and allowing the tip 
to continue to grow. Seedlings are usually preferable, as 
indicated in the last paragraph (page 166). 

From four to five months are required, after seed-sow- 
ing, to secure ripe fruit. Seeds are usually sown in flats, 
and the young plants should be handled at least twice 
(preferably into pots) before they are put into permanent 
quarters (page 155). 



258 MANAGEMENT OF THE VARIOUS CROPS. 

The plants may be trained either to a single perpen- 
dicular stem (being tied to a vertical cord), or two or 
three stems or branches may be taken out and trained in 
a fan-shaped fashion (either on diverging cords or on 
wire trellises). For single-stem training (which is gen- 
erally considered to be best), the plants may be set about 
20 X 24 inches ; in the fan system, they are set from 2 to 
3 feet each way (pages 160, 158). 

The heavy clusters of fruit are held up in slings of 
raffia or soft cord. The plants must be kept open, and 
free from all stray and blind growths (page 161). 

Especial care must be taken not to water too freely 
in heavy soils, and particularly in dull weather. Over- 
watered plants may develop dropsy, and they are liable 
to many ills (pages 161, 177). 

Tomato flowers must be hand-pollinated. This opera- 
tion is done in midday, when the sun is bright and the 
house dry. The best method is to collect the pollen in a 
spoon or ladle (Fig. 53) and to touch the end of the 
stigma with the dust (page 162). 

The tomato fruit seems to be increased in size by a 
very liberal application of pollen (Fig. 55), and it devel- 
ops more symmetrically if care is taken to apply the 
pollen equally over the entire stigmatic surface (page 163). 

In winter, single-stem tomatoes should average about 
2 lbs. of good fruit to the plant, and in spring and early 
summer twice that much (page 169). 

The most popular forcing tomato in this country is 
Lorillard. Other good ones are Ignotum, Chemin Market, 
Golden Queen, Volunteer. Almost any of the free-grow- 
ing varieties force well (page 172). 

House tomatoes are generally sent to market in neat 
splint baskets (like the Climax) holding from 4 to 10 lbs. 
of fruit. Each fruit should be wrapped in soft paper 
(page 174). 

Animal parasites of the tomato are the aleyrodes scale 
(kept in check by tobacco fumigation), mite (held at bay 



TOMATO. 259 

by syringing the plants and picking off infested leaves), 
and the root-gall (prevented by using only soil which has 
been thoroughly frozen since a crop has been grown upon 
it) illustrated in Fig. 29, and discussed on pages 84 and 
85 (page 175). 

Diseases of house tomatoes are fruit-rot (pick off the 
injured fruits), blight or rust (spray with fungicide), dropsy 
(caused by too much wet and too little light), and winter 
blight (destroy the plants), this last being very little 
understood (page 177). 



18 FORC, 



INDEX. 



Page 

Accidents 2 

Adsched, on melon 205 

"Agricultural Science," quoted. 96 

Alton, on pepino , 150 

Aleyrodes 89, 175 

Alga 67 

Alternation of crops 7 

"American Garden," quoted 85, 151 
"American Gardening," quoted, 

102, 121, 243 
"American Naturalist," quoted, 

192, 194 
"Annalesdes Sciences," quoted. 194 
Aphis 104, III, 125, 200 

— destroying 84, 86, 89 

Apples, pollination of 165 

Artotrogus Debaryanus . . .85, 86 
Ashes for forcing-house soil. . 55 
Asparagus, account of . . . 127, 130 

— mentioned 4,5, 7 

— summary of 245 

— temperature for . . . .5,49, 50 
Atkinson, on damping-off. . . 84 

— on oedema 178 

Bailey, on damping-off 85 

— on electric light So 

Barkham, James, on melon. . 209, 

212, 215 

Bauhin, quoted 192 

Bean, account of 225 

— mentioned 6, 7 

— prices of 4 

— summary of 245, 246 

— temperature for 5 

Beds 40 

Bees in forcing-houses 81 



Page 
Beet, account of 145 

— electric light on 80 

— mentioned 5, 6 

— summary of 246 

— temperature for 5 

Beets and sub-irrigation .... 77 

Benches 40 

Benson, Martin, and pepino . . 151 

j Bermuda, cucumbers in . . 185, 196 

[ Bisulphide of carbon 90 

Blight of tomato 180 

, Bordeaux mixture . . 84, 177, 182 
" Botanical Magazine," quoted 244 

Botrytis vulgaris 105 

Brazilian melon fruit 243 

Britton, W. E., quoted 53 

Bubbles in glass 207 

Building forcing-houses .... 16 
Busch, Fred., mentioned ... 48 

Butted glass 37 

Cabbage-worm 11 1 

California, cyphomandra in, 241, 243 

— pepino in 151 

" Canadian Horticulturist,-" 

quoted 175 

Canker 84, 222 

Capsicum. See Pepper. 
Carnations and vegetables ... 8 
Carrot, account of 145 

— electric light on 80 

— mentioned 5, 6 

— summary of . . 246 

— temperature for 5 

Category of forcing crops ... 4 
Cauliflower, account of . . . 108 

— electric light on 80 



260) 



INDEX. 



261 



Page 
Cauliflower, mentioned , 6 , 1 7 , 43 , 1 40 

— summary of 247 

— temperature for 5i 49 

Celery, account of 139 

— mentioned 5,6,7 

— summary of . . 247 

— temperature for 5, 49 

Cellars, use of 4 

Cement for gutters 33 

— for walls 35 

Central America, pepiuo in . . 150 
Charcoal and damping-off ... 84 
Chester Co., carnations in . . . 8 

Chicory 4 

Chileno tomato 241 

Chr>'santhemums, mentioned. . 140 

Cladosporium fulvum 177 

Clay and lettuce-growing ... 8 

Climate and forcing 8 

Coal, cost of 9-15 

Coates, Leonard, quoted. ... 2 

Compost heaps 64 

Connecticut experiments in 

fertilizing lettuce 61 

on manures 63 

on tomatoes 53 

Construction of houses 16 

Cool plants 4, 49 

Corbett, L. C, mentioned ... 92 

Corn 225 

Cornell experiments, quoted . . 42 

54, 80, 82, 84, 135, 

146, 177, 178, iSo 225, 228 

— experience with radishes. . .121 
Cornell, sub-irrigation at. . . . 68 

Cos lettuce 4 

Cost of forcing-houses . . . 46 

Cow manure 52 

Cresses 141, 142 

Cress, mentioned r 

— summary of 247 

— temperature for 5 

Crops for forcing, category of. 4 

Crosses of cucumbers 199 

Cucumber, account of 184 



Page 

Cucumber, mentioned . 2, 5, 7, 43' 

51,52, So. S3 

— prices of 4 

— summary of 24S 

— temperature for 5, 50 

Cucumis longus 192 

— sativus var. Sikkimensis. . . 194 
Cut-flowers and vegetable 

growing i 

Cut-worms 52 

Cyanide of potassium 90 

Cyphomandra, account of . . . 241 

— temperature for 5 

Daintiness of product 3 

Damping-oft' 67, 84, 222 

Dandelion 143 

— summary of 249 

Denitrification 62 

Diseases, account of 83 

Distance from market ... 8 

Drip 29, 30, 38 

Dreer's " Vegetables under 

Glass," mentioned .... 16, 118 

Dropsy 84, 177 

Duke of Northumberland cu- 
cumber 193 

Eggplant, account of 228 

— mentioned 5, 6 

— summary of 249, 250 

— temperature for 5, 50 

Eisen, Gustav, on pepiuo . . . 149, 

150, 151 
Electric light for forcing- 
houses 80, 94, lOI 

England, melon in ..... . 204 

Erysiphe 200, 222 

Escarolle 4 

Even-span 18 

Failures, cause of. 3 

Fertilizers 52 

Fire, risk of 2 

Fir-tree oil 176 

Flanagan, Patrick, and the cu- 
cumber 193 

" Flora Peruviana," quoted , . 149 



262 



INDEX. 



Page 
Florida, pepino in 151 

— tomatoes from 7 

Flowers and vegetables .... 7 

Flues 46 

Forcing crops, category of . . 4 

Forrest on cucumbers 194 

Framework 24 

Frost, risk of 2 

Fruit-rot of tomato 177 

Fuel, cost of 9, 15 

Fumigation 86 

Fungi, account of 83 

— mentioned . . . 23, 51, 59, 66, 67 
Galloway, B. T., on lettuce soils 96 

— on radishes 121 

" Garden and Forest," quoted. 132, 

146, 151, 180 

Garden-cress . . 142 

"Gardeners' Magazine," 

quoted 193 

" Gardeners' Monthly," quoted, 

149, 151, 152 
Gardner, John, on asparagus . 132 

— on damping-off. 85 

Gas pipe and sub-irrigation. 71, 72 
Glasgow Botanical Garden, 

cyphomandra in 244 

Glass 36, 207 

Glazing ... 36 

Green-fly, 84, 86, 89, 104, iii, 125, 200 

Green corn 225 

" Greenhouse Construction," 

mentioned 16 

Green, W. J., on lettuce soils . 97 

— on sub-irrigation . . . . 68, 77 

Grelck, J., and pepino 150 

Grenadilla 243 

Grubs 52 

Guatemala, pepino in 149 

Gulf states, eggplant in ... . 6 

Gutters 24, 33 

Hare, Thomas, and the cucum- 
ber 193 

Hastings, Gen. Russell, on cu- 
cumber 196 



Page 
Heating, account of 40 

— cost of 9-15 

— item '. . 2 

Help, cost of. 9-15 

Henderson, Peter & Co., on 

cyphomandra 241 

Heterodera radicicola 177 

Hooker, Sir J. D., on cucumber 194 
Hooker, Sir W. J., on cypho 

mandra 244 

Horse dung 63 

Horticultural Soc, Royal, 

quoted 209 

" Hortus Kewensis," quoted . 150 
Hotbeds, asparagus in .... 132 

Hot- water heating 40 

House-blight of melons .... 222 

Hughes' fir-tree oil 176 

Humphrey on damping-off ... 85 

Hydrant water 65 

Hydrocyanic gas 90 

Illinois, heat and labor in . . . 13 
Importance of forcing industry 7 
Indiana, heat and labor in . . 13 

Indian corn 225 

Insects, account of 83 

— mentioned 23, 51 

Irrigation in forcing-houses . . 68 

Ithaca, climate of. 113,211 

Jamaica, Tree Tomato of . . . 241 

Jenkins, E. H., quoted 53 

"Journal Obs. Phys.," quoted . 149 
Journal Royal Hort. Soc. 

quoted 209 

Kentucky, heat and labor in . . 15 
Kermaii, John, on tomato . . . 175 
Kerosene, to clean houses. . 84, 85 

Kinney pump 68 

"Kitchen and Market -Gar- 
den," quoted 196 

Knight, Thomas Andrew, on 

melon 204 

Kiihn on manure 63 

Labor, cost of. 9-15 

— item 2 



INDEX. 



263 



Page 

Lapped glass 38 

Leaf-burn of lettuce 106 

Leaf-mold 51 

Lean-to 18 

Lepidium sativum 142 

Lettuce, account of. 93 

— and sub-irrigation ... 72, 77 

— Cos 4 

— electric light on 80 

— fertilizing 61 

— mentioned 5,7,8,43,46' 

68, 83, 140, 146, 153 

— prices of 4, 

— summary of , . . 250,251,252 

— temperature for 5, 49 

Lima bean 6 

Lime whitewash 80 

Liquid manure 52 

Locations for vegetable forcing 8 
Lodeman, quoted . . . .82, 86, 115, 

135, iSo, 228 
London Horticultural Society, 

mentioned 193 

Lonsdale, on damping-ofF. . . 85 

Lye to clean houses 85 

Maine Experiment Station, 

quoted 159, 164, 173 

Maize 225 

Management of forcing- 
houses 49 

Manure 50, 52, 62 

Marketing 3, 8 

Marrows 6 

Martins, on cyphomandra . . . 244 
Massachusetts bulletins, quoted, 

35,42,53, 85 

— heat and labor in 11 

Massey, on damping-off. .... 85 
Maynard, on damping-ofF. . . 85 

— on heating . . 42 

Mealy-bugs . . . .84, 221, 237, 243 
Meehan, on damping-off. ... 85 
Melon, account of . . . ... 204 

— mentioned. . . 2,3,5,6,7,17, 

43,51,52, 53,65,67 



Page 
Melon fruit, Brazilian 243 

— pear 147 

— shrub 147 

Melongena laurifolia 149 

Mentha viridis 143 

Michigan bulletins, quoted . . 42 

165, 241 

— heat and labor in 12 

Micrococcus in winter blight . .182 
Mildew of lettuce 106 

— mentioned 10, 83, 84 

Mills, George, on melon. . . . 209 
Minnesota bulletins, quoted . . 35 

— heat and labor in 13 

Mints, account of 141, 143 

Mint, temperature for 5 

Mites . . 84, 90, 176, 200, 221, 228, 237 

Mold, leaf. 51 

Mortises 33 

Moss 67 

M'Phail, quoted 192 

Munson, W. M., experiments 

with tomatoes .... 159, 164, 173 

on pepino 146, 152 

Muskmelon, account of ... . 204 

— summary of ... . 252, 253, 254 

— temperature for 5, 50 

— see also Melon 

Mustard 143 

— temperature for 5 

Naphtha, in whitewash .... 80 

Naudin, on cucumbers 194 

Nematode 84, 177 

New Hampshire bulletin, 

quoted 69 

New Jersey, heat and labor in 14 

pepino in 152 

Station, quoted 54 

New York Exp. Station, quoted 99 

heat and labor in .... 11 

"Nicholson's Dictionary of 

Gardening," quoted 196 

Night man 10 

Nitrogen and forcing crops . . 54 

— availability of 62 



264. 



INDEX. 



Page 

Nitrogen, loss of 62 

CEdenia 177 

Ohio bulletins, quoted . . .53, 69, 
72, 97, 104 

— Station, sub-irrigation at . . 68 

Oidium 200, 222 

Okra 225 

Onion, account of 144 

— temperature for 5 

Ontario, heat and labor in. . . 11 

— tomatoes in 157 

" Orchard and Garden," quoted, 

149. 151, 152 

Packing 3 

Parsley, account of. 142 

— and sub-irrigation 77 

— summary of 254 

— temperature for 5 

Pea, account of. 135 

— electric light on 80 

— mentioned 5, 6 

— summary of. . . 254 

— temperature for 5 

Peat 51 

Pennock, C. J., on tomato 

growing 163, 167, 169 

Pennsylvania, heat and labor 

in 13 

Pepino, account of 146 

— de la tierra . . 150 

— mentioned 6 

— summary of 254 

— temperature for 5 

Pepo 149 

Ptpper, account of 238 

— mentioned 5, 6 

— prices of 5 

— summary of 255 

— temperature for 5j 5° 

Peronospora gangliformis . . 106 

Peru, pepino in 149 

Pie-plant i34 

Piping 16, 41, 43 

" Plantes Potageres." quoted . 192, 

194 



Page 

Plants and vegetables 7 

Plate 30 

Pollination . . .81, 162, 195, 214, 236 

Potato 146 

Pot-herbs, account of. 141 

Prices of hothouse vegetables . 4 

Purlines 26 

Putty, recipe for 37 

Radish, account of 115 

— electric light on 80 

— mentioned 5, 6 

— summary of 255, 256 

— temperature for 5, 49 

Radishes and sub-irrigation . . 77 

Rafters 26 

Rain water 68 

Rane, F. W., on electric light. . 80 

on sub-irrigation, 69, 71,77, 78 

Rawson, W. W., on electric 

light 80 

on lettuce growing . . 102, 104 

Red pepper: See Pepper. 
Red spiders (see Mites) 84, 228, 237 
" Revue Horticole,'" quoted. . 189 
Rhubarb, account of . . . . 127, 134 

— mentioned 7 

— summary of 256 

— temperature for , . . .5, 49, 50 

Ridge-pole 33 

Risks in forcing business. ... 2 

Romain salad 4 

Roofs 17. 18. 24 

Root crops 145 

Root-galls 79, 84, 87, 177 

Rose-leaf extract of tobacco . . 89 

Rotation of crops 7 

Rot of lettuce 105 

— of tomato 177 

Rousignon, on pepino 151 

Royal Hort. Soc, quoted. . . . 209 
Ruiz and Pavon, on pepino . . 149 
" Rural New-Yorker," quoted 144 

Rust of tomato 52, i77 

Sage 143 

Salads, account of 141 



INDEX. 



265 



Page 

Salad, Romain 4 

Sash-bars 27, 29, 37 

Sash-bar roofs 26 

Sash for ventilating 35 

Scott, William, on asparagus. . 132 

Sea-kale 4, 128 

Sewer pipe and sub-irrigation . 70 
Seymour, on damping-oft'. ... 85 

Shading, account of 78 

Shed roofs 17, iS 

Shepherd, Theodosia B., on 

cyphomandra 243 

Shipping 3, 8 

Short-span-to-the-south ... 23 

Side-hill houses 24 

Sikkim cucumber 194 

Sion House, cucumber . » . . . . 193 

Soil and forcing 8 

Soils, account of 50, 66, 96 

Solanum fragrans, 244 

— Guatemalense 147 

— Melongena 151 

— muricatum 150 

South America, cyphomandra 

in 243 

Spearmint 143 

Spiders, red 84, 228, 237 

Spinach 142 

— and sub-irrigation 77 

— electric light on 80 

— mentioned 6 

— summary of 256 

— temperature for 5 

Spraying for insects and dis- 
eases 84 

— roofs 80 

Squashes 6, 225 

Stable manure 50, 52, 62 

Staple crops 5 

Steam heating 40 

Stoves 46 

String beans • 6, 225 

Sturtevant, quoted .... 192, 194 

Sub-irrigation. 68 

Sulphur, evaporating . . 84, 91, 106 



Page 
Sulphuric acid 90 

Sun-scald 79 

Sun-scorching 79 

Taft, on cost of houses 46 

— on heating 42 

Taft's "Greenhouse Construc- 
tion," mentioned 16 

Tear-drops in glass 207 

Temperatures for various crops 5, 

49 

Tenons 33 

Tetranychus bimaculatus 90, 
176, 221 

Thoreau, on melon 205 

Thouin, on pepino 150 

Tiles and sub-irrigation .... 70 
Tobacco extract 89 

— for fumigation . . . 87,104,111 
Tomato, account of. 153 

— de la Paz .... 243 

— fertilizers for 53 

— mentioned . . . • 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 17, 

43.44,52,53.67, 184 

— prices of 4 

— summary of. . . 256, 257, 258, 259 

— temperature for 5, 50 

Tomatoes and sub-irrigation. . 77 

Top burn of lettuce 106 

Transportation facilities .... 8 
Tree tomato of Jamaica .... 241 

Turnip, account of 145 

Tweed ie, and the cyphomandra 243 

Uneven-span 181 36 

Van Fleet, W., on onions . . . 144 
" Vegetable Forcing," men- 
tioned 16, 92 

" Vegetables under Glass," 

mentioned 16, 118 

Ventilating, account of .... 78 

Ventilators 35 

Vilmorin, quoted 192, 194 

Violets, fumigfating 90 

Wagner on manure 62, 63 

Walker, C. D., on electric cur- 
rents 80 



266 



INDEX. 



Page 

Walks i6, 17, 24 

Walls 16, 33 

Warm plants 4, 50 

Washington experience with 
radishes 121 

— heat and labor in 15 

Water-cress 141 

Water heating 40 

Watering, account of. 65 

— mentioned 9, 50 

WatermeloJi 205 



Page 
Watson, on damping-off .... 85 
West Virginia Station and sub- 
irrigation 69, 71 

electric light at 80 

White Spine cucumbers .... 201 

Whitewash 80 

Winkler's "Vegetable Forc- 
ing," mentioned • 16, 93 

Winter blight 180 

Wire-worms 52 



Edited by Prof. L. H. Bailey. 

The HORTICULTURIST'S Rule-book. 

A COMPENDIUM OF USEFUL INFORMATION FOR FRUIT-GROWERS, TRUCK- 
GARDBNERS, FLORISTS, AND OTHERS. 

By U H. BAILEY, 

Professor of Horticulture in Cornell University. 

Third Edition, Thoroughly Revised and Recast, with Many Additions. 
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THE SOIL. 

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"This is a book for every gardener and everyone who has a garden, for 
every fruit-grower and every farmer. The necessity of spraying for a great 
variety of garden, field, and fruit crops is now so generally recognized that a 
manual on the subject has become a necessity. The destruction of injurious 
insects and fungi occupies an important place in the operations of gardeners, 
farmers, and fruit-growers, and the veiy careful and elaborate manner in 
which the subject is treated in this volume is highly creditable to the author, 
and commends it to the attention of every cultivator." — J^^ick's Monthly. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 

66 Fifth Avenue. NEW YORK. 



TItb Plural StiBitcB SBrt:e$. 

Edited by Prof. L. H, Bailey. 

IN THE PRESS. 

THE APPLE. 

By L. H, BAILEY. 

The work is to comprise two parts — the first treating of all the practical 
matters of apple-growing, and the second of such scientific matters as the 
botany of the apple, its history and evolution, production of new varieties, 
and the like. It is expected that the work will be completed and ready for 
publication in the fall. 

MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS. 

By H. H. WING. 



THE FERTILITY OF THE LAND. 

By I. P. ROBERTS. 



Other volumes in the series to follow are : 
PhysiolO§:y of Plants. By J. C. Arthur, of Purdue University. 
Grasses. By W. H. Brewer, of Yale University. 
Bush Fruits. By F. W. Card, of University of Nebraska. 

Plant Diseases. By B. T. Gai.i,oway, K. F. Smith, and A. F. 

Woods, of the United States Department of Agriculture. 
Seeds and Seed Growing:. By G. H. Hicks, of the United States 

Department of Agriculture. 
LegfUminouS Plants. By E. W. Hii^gard, of the University of 

California. 
Feeding: of Animals. By W. H. Jordan, of Maine Experiment 

Station. 
Irrigation. By F. H. King, of the University of Wisconsin. 



IN PREPARATION. 

EVOLUTION OF OUR NATIVE FRUITS. 

By L. H. BAILEY. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 

66 Fifth Avenue, NEW YORK. 



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